Quitting Smoking and Vaping As An LGBTQ Person

Staying quit from smoking, vaping, and tobacco can be a challenging climb for everyone. But if you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ), quitting can be an especially steep path. Learn why quitting can be so complicated for LGBTQ people and how to make it easier.

Your quitting journey is unique to you. You may find some of these reasons more relevant to your life than others. Here are 5 key reasons why quitting smoking/vaping can be harder for LGBTQ people.

1. Stress
2. Social smoking
3. Using other substances
4. Targeted tobacco industry marketing
5. Smoking menthol cigarettes

Note: In this article, EX uses LGBTQ as a term for people who are not heterosexual and/or cisgender. However, we acknowledge that this term does not capture the full breadth of identities. EX respects the autonomy of individuals to define themselves.

1. Stress

Stress can make it harder to quit and stay quit. Smoking or vaping may be a way you deal with stress, take a break from a stressful situation, or reward yourself for handling stress.

You may face general stress from work, school, or home life. You may also be dealing with stress specific to homophobia and/or transphobia and living in an unjust society. If you have multiple marginalized identities, these stresses can build on each other.

They may include:

• Family issues
• Discrimination
• Harassment
• Violence
• Barriers to healthcare
• Transition-related issues
• Housing insecurity
• Discriminatory laws and policies
• Threatening political or social environment

You are doing your best under hard circumstances. Treat yourself with the same compassion you would treat a friend or loved one. We have tools to help you manage stress throughout your life. They can also help you quit.

2. Social smoking

Smoking and vaping are common in LGBTQ communities. Smoking has long been present in gay bars and other spaces like parties and nightlife. Being around friends and community members who smoke and vape can complicate your quit journey.

You may have used smoking or vaping to smooth or enhance social situations. For example, offering someone a hit of your vape may have been a way to introduce yourself to someone new. Or winding down with a cigarette and your roommates at the end of the day may have been a way to bond and hang out.

Non-verbal communication with smoking and vaping can be common in LGBTQ communities. For example, maybe someone has offered you a cigarette when things were tough, to express care for you.

It can be hard to quit when people around you still smoke/vape. Getting support from others, or just being around other people who are quitting, can help you quit.

3. Using multiple substances at the same time

Many people who smoke/vape also drink alcohol, use cannabis/marijuana, or use other substances at the same time. Drinking and other substance use can make it harder to quit smoking or vaping.

This is because substances can be triggers for nicotine cravings. For example, say you usually smoke when you have a beer at the bar. Your brain has connected smoking and drinking. Now when you have a beer, your brain expects nicotine too. So, drinking becomes a trigger that makes you crave nicotine.

Substances also change your decision-making power. And there can be chemical interactions between nicotine and other substances that make it harder to quit.

4. Targeted tobacco industry marketing

The tobacco industry has a long history of targeting LGBTQ communities with marketing. This has made it more likely that LGBTQ people will see tobacco marketing than non-LGBTQ people.

In 1995, the tobacco company R.J. Reynolds created a marketing strategy called Project SCUM (Sub-Culture Urban Marketing). Project SCUM marketed cigarettes to gay men and people experiencing homelessness.

Tobacco companies have used many kinds of methods to market cigarettes and vapes to LGBTQ people since Project SCUM, like:

• Targeting LGBTQ people on social media. Studies have found LGBTQ people are more likely to see cigarette and vape ads on social media than non-LGBTQ people.
• Using “corporate philanthropy” as evidence of its support of the LGBTQ community.
• Supporting community events like Pride parades, featuring specific cigarette and vape brands.

5. Smoking menthol cigarettes

People who are LGBTQ smoke menthol cigarettes more frequently than people who are not LGBTQ. It is harder to quit menthol cigarettes because the cooling menthol flavoring makes smoking feel "smoother". That cooling feeling makes it easier to inhale more deeply. And deep inhales give you a bigger dose of nicotine. Over time, more nicotine receptors develop in your brain, making it harder to quit.

We have specific tips for quitting menthol cigarettes.