Barriers keep NHPI and LGBTQ smokers from breathing free

Two groups that have high rates of smoking and vaping — the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community and the LGBTQ community ­— have specific hurdles that prevent them from quitting: the cost of cessation therapies and a lack of culturallyspecific care, according to a pair of reports from theUCLA Center for Health Policy Research.“Examining the smoking behaviors of specific communities is essential to understanding their unique needs,” saidSean Tan, a senior public administration analyst at the center and lead author of both reports. “We found that many NHPI and LGBTQ smokers who want to quit and have tried to do so lack the means and culturally competent care to quit for good.”  The reports, based on follow-up surveys conducted by the center ’s California Health Interview Survey in2019 –20,touch on each group ’s tobacco, vaping and marijuana use, as well as their exposure to secondhand smoke, attitudes toward smoke-free policies and cessation attempts. Data in theNHPI report looked at differences by ethnic subgroup, gender, age, education and region, while theLGBTQ data looked at differences by sexual and gender minority status, race and ethnicity, age, and education.NHPI smokers: A large proportion of adults use tobaccoAmong the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults surveyed, 64.3% said they currently used tobacco products of any kind, ranging from cigarettes to hookahs to nicotine pouches to betel nut with tobacco. Other findings from the ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news