Research

Ohio health department to study tobacco habits of gay teens
The Ohio Department of Health has received $60,000 in federal funds to study the reasons behind the high smoking rates among lesbian, gay, and bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) teens.  The study will examine teens’ smoking habits in focus groups of 12 to 20 year olds.  According to the Ohio Department of Health, 40-60% of LGBT adults are smokers.  Click here for more information on the study.  To read more about smoking among LGBT individuals, click here for the National LGBT Tobacco Control Network website.

Tobacco use among individuals with schizophrenia: What role has the tobacco industry played?
This study by the University of California, San Francisco explored previously confidential tobacco industry documents from the 1950s to the 1990s to determine reasons for the disproportionately high 80% smoking rate currently seen among individuals with schizophrenia.  There is evidence that the tobacco industry oversaw psychiatric studies indicating that those with schizophrenia were less susceptible to the dangers of smoking, and that smoking was a necessary form of self-medication.  Find out more about the study here.

Crossing borders: The impact of the California Tobacco Control Program on both sides of the US–Mexico border
This study analyzed California’s public health efforts against tobacco in San Diego, California, and two Mexican cities. Tijuana had partial exposure to Californian public health programs, and Guadalajara had no Californian tobacco interventions.  Controlling for socioeconomic differences, there were differences between the three cities in smoking rates, secondhand smoke exposure, and smoking bans based on the amount of exposure to tobacco programs.  In view of the programs’ success in both countries, the researchers recommend the expansion of similar programs.  The study was published in the February 2008 American Journal of Public Health.  Read the abstract here.

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