Missing My Grandpa

This entry is a sad one for me. My grandfather, Robert Yragui, died from emphysema over Labor Day weekend.

I was just getting to know him. He was my biological mother's father. I was not in touch with that part of my family until recently. I reached out to Grandpa first. He was very sweet and caring. He liked to recount stories of his youth in Idaho growing up on a ranch with his Basque relatives. He was a passionate progressive and always railed against the Republicans. He was smart and articulate and soulful.

I felt so sad to see him suffer from emphysema. He smoked for many years but finally quit in his 50s. I guess the damage was done, though. He developed emphysema later on that progressively got worse. Every time I visited him he had his oxygen tank with him as well as a coterie of inhalers and medication. As time went on, everyday tasks became harder for him. He could not go down the street for a short distance without being short for air. Things got so bad that he had to go into a hospice for the last four months of his life. The disease that stole his breath finally stole his life.

I am so angry with the cigarette companies! Tobacco products are the only products that kill when used as directed. They cause a constellation of illnesses, of which emphysema is one. Emphysema is a disorder of lung inflation characterized by enlargement and destruction of the air spaces. If a person has chronic bronchitis as well as emphysema, the condition is called Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Smoking is responsible for 80-90 percent of all COPD cases, including emphysema. COPD is now the fourth most common cause of death in the United States and is rising.

When will the carnage stop? I am doing my part with Butt Out to inspire the LGBT community to fight against the tobacco industry. You can be part of the fight too. If I can prevent even one young person from sharing my grandfather's fate, I will have succeeded.

Robert (Bob) Andrew Yragui

July 13, 1933 - Sept. 4, 2010

Here is his obituary in the Chronicle

Robert (Bob) Andrew Yragui July 13, 1933 - Sept. 4, 2010 Passed away at home in Vallejo, on September 4, 2010 after a long battle with Emphysema. Bob was born on July 13, 1933 in Shoshone, Idaho. Bob attended the University of Santa Clara where he obtained a B.S in history. Bob then met Maurine Yale and they married in San Francisco on April 14, 1957. Bob went to work for the U.S. Postal Service as a letter carrier. He was very active in his union local, and was elected shop steward. He began his union locals' first newspaper. Bob is survived by his wife Maurine, and daughters, Teresa, (husband Ron Garnys), Elizabeth Ann, Emily (Mike Arnold), Claire (Rudy Jaime), and Catherine Yragui, his beloved grandchildren, Jane Aceituno, Merisa, Kyle, and Kelly Rasmussen, Brandon Yragui, and brothers Nicholas, Edward, and Leon Yragui. A memorial Service will be held on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at 2:00 pm, at Skyview Memorial Lawn, 200 Rollingwood Drive, Vallejo, CA 94591, (707) 644-7474. A gathering at the family home will follow the service. The family would like to thank Sutter VNA and Hospice

LGBT Smoking Report Cause for Concern

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the country, accounting for 393,000 deaths a year. A new report on LGBT smoking has been released that shows that LGBT people suffer more from this deadly addiction. Researchers combed through more than 40 separate analyses to determine that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are more likely to use tobacco than straight people. A dozen or so states have collected sexual orientation information on routine health surveys. However, only 6 states have published reports on tobacco use by sexual orientation: Arizona, California, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Oregon and Washington together. All 6 of these states found significantly elevated smoking rates in the LGBT community.

The statistics are alarming. Gay men are nearly two and a half times more likely to develop a smoking habit than straight men. Lesbians are twice as likely compared to straight women, and people who are bisexual appear to have the highest risk of all - all of the state surveys that collected data on bisexuals found smoking rates higher than 30 percent, and ranging up to a high of 39.1 percent. At 30.7 percent, the transgender smoking prevalence was very close to the overall LGBT rate of 30.4 percent.

LGBT youth are a vulnerable population. Bisexual youth seem to be at highest risk compared with both heterosexual and homosexual youth. Researchers found that bisexual boys were twice as likely to smoke regularly as either gay or straight boys. Compared to heterosexuals, “mostly heterosexual” girls were 2.5 times more likely, and lesbian/bisexual girls were an alarming 9.7 times more likely to smoke at least weekly. Boys identified as “mostly heterosexual” were 2.5 times more likely than heterosexual boys to smoke at least weekly, but gay/bisexual boys were no more likely to smoke than heterosexual boys.

The report analyzed reasons for the smoking rate disparity. One reason is the stress of discrimination. Actual or even perceived stigma causes stress, and research has shown that smoking rates, as well as other negative health behaviors and outcomes, are higher in groups that experience high levels of stress. The bar culture might also be to blame. Because there is a biological and behavioral link between drinking and smoking, it is likely that the bar culture would have contributed to elevated smoking rates. Access to healthcare is another issue. LGBT people have less access to health care and the smoking cessation tools often necessary to kick the habit. Another reason is tobacco company targetting of the LGBT community. The tobacco industry was one of the first to develop marketing materials specifically targeting the LGBT community, and it has over time cynically reaped the benefits of the attention paid to a group that had been largely ignored by mainstream advertisers. Finally, some of our community leaders have ignored the problem. Despite the impact of tobacco use on the health and well-being of the LGBT community, many LGBT organizations do not seem to view tobacco control as a relevant issue and some noted in studies that combating smoking could be bad for an organization’s bank account. There are so many reasons for LGBT smoking disparities. The issue is very complex.

The study is a good look at current knowledge of LGBT smoking. We should all be very concerned with the elevated rates of smoking and take the figures as a call to action. We need to tackle the driving forces of smoking in the community. One day perhaps we can look at smoking in the LGBT community as an unfortunate but limited chapter in our group history.

Stay in Touch!

Keep track of the work Butt Out is doing by going to our website (www.butt-out.org/), friending us on Facebook (butt-outsanfrancisco) or by connecting with us on Twitter (twitter.com/buttoutsf).Butt Out is a project of Breathe California, funded by the San Francisco Tobacco Free Project, which works to get tobacco money out of LGBT community organizations in San Francisco. We also educate the public about the hazards of smoking and about smoking cessation.

Happy Pride!

This weekend is Pride! What will you do?

My Pride weekend will be jam packed. I can't wait to participate in the trans march on Friday. I'm really looking forward to seeing "Dyke Delights" on Saturday as part of the Frameline film festival. Afterwards I am going to take to the streets in the Mission and the Castro as I join other women in the Dyke March. My Saturday will be capped off with a good time at Pink Saturday on Castro Street. Sunday of course will be the Pride parade. My girlfriend Carmel and I still need a battle plan for where we will view the Parade. This year will be the first in several years that I am not volunteering. I get to see the floats! My Pride experience will end with a romp through the Pride booths.

I am hoping for a good time. One thing I worry about is being surrounded by smokers. Market Street will be jam packed with people on the sidewalks. Imagine being pressed on all sides by people trying to get a peak at the hotties on the float coming by. You can't move anywhere. All of a sudden you are overcome by the smell of smoke. Someone in back of you is smoking and the breeze is carrying over to you. You have no choice but to endure the stench and the dangerous fumes. It is not an inconsequential thing to be exposed to secondhand smoke. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoking takes 4,000 lives in California from lung cancer and heart disease alone. Unbelievable!

Events like Pride bring out our community in force. Unfortunately it brings out our addictions in force too. There will be a lot of smoking on the streets. The statistics are really amazing. In California, men in the LGBT community smoke about 50% more than all men. Women in our community smoke nearly three times as much as all women. Transgender members of our community smoke twice as much as all Californians. And most alarming of all - LGBT young adults 18-24 years old smoke over two and a half times as much as all young adults (43.7% vs. 16.6%). There will be a lot of people lighting up!

I hope that through the advocacy of groups like Butt Out that we can get the message to smokers that there is a different way to live. We also need to decrease the exposure of innocent bystanders to secondhand smoke. I'd like to go to a Pride celebration that is filled with nothing but blue skies, fresh air and half naked men and women. Here's to hoping.

Have a fantastic Pride!

Stay in Touch!

Keep track of the work Butt Out is doing by going to our website (www.butt-out.org/), friending us on Facebook (butt-outsanfrancisco) or by connecting with us on Twitter (twitter.com/buttoutsf).Butt Out is a project of Breathe California, funded by the San Francisco Tobacco Free Project, which works to get tobacco money out of LGBT community organizations in San Francisco. We also educate the public about the hazards of smoking and about smoking cessation.

World No Tobacco Day

World No Tobacco Day happened Monday. The World Health Organization (WHO) organized the day. Its theme for the global anti-smoking day was "gender and tobacco" and the harmful effects of tobacco marketing and smoking on women and girls. Countries in the developing world are seeing a rise in women smoking as women become more affluent and have more disposable income to spend on cigarettes. Tobacco companies are beginning to target this increasingly empowered segment of the population. This trend of increased female smoking is mirrored in the LGBT community in California where lesbians and bisexual women smoke nearly three times as much as heterosexual women. The trend worldwide is very troubling.

Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world, currently responsible for the death of one in 10 adults worldwide, or about 5 million deaths each year, said the WHO. Women make up about 20 percent of the world's 1 billion smokers, but if current tobacco usage continues smoking will kill 8 million people a year by 2030 -- 2.5 million will be women.

Even more alarming is the incidence of smoking among youth. It is estimated that more than 8 percent of girls between 13 and 15, or around 4.7 million girls, are using tobacco products in the Asia-Pacific region, said the WHO. Compare that to LGBT youth smoking in California where 43.7% of LGBT youth smoke!

We have to protect our young people worldwide from the ravages of smoking.

A YouTube video of an Indonesian two-year-old boy, who reportedly smokes two packs of cigarettes a day, angered anti-smoking groups around the world last week. The video has been removed by YouTube.

"The tobacco industry is thriving and if we look at our society, even children have started to smoke," Krida Wacana Christian University (Ukrida) student Stefano Leatemia told The Jakarta Post newspaper on Monday.

WHO is calling for comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship to protect women and girls from images that portray smoking as glamorous or fashionable. Only half of the nations in the Asia-Pacific have bans on tobacco advertising.

We need more than a No Tobacco Day. We need a No Tobacco Life. With activism and personal encouragement we can help keep all of us, including our most vulnerable citizens, from becoming slaves to the noxious product.

Stay in Touch!

Keep track of the work Butt Out is doing by going to our website (www.butt-out.org/), friending us on Facebook (butt-outsanfrancisco) or by connecting with us on Twitter (twitter.com/buttoutsf).Butt Out is a project of Breathe California, funded by the San Francisco Tobacco Free Project, which works to get tobacco money out of LGBT community organizations in San Francisco. We also educate the public about the hazards of smoking and about smoking cessation.

Massachusetts Makes the Tobacco Fight Graphic

You know how a lung is supposed to look: Plump and pink all over, gleaming with health. Picture me now holding the lung slice at last year's Butt Out booth for SF Pride. Cropped within two clear panes of plexiglass was a sliver of diseased lung. The lung matter was grey with black marks here and there. The slice had craters in it and red pocks where blood vessels had blown up. Imagine me with the biggest grimacing look that you can imagine on a person. Someone actually had that lung! That lung slice belonged to a long-time smoker who died of a smoking related disease. Let me tell you, that lung slice validated the decision not to smoke for me and everyone passing by the booth that day. Nothing said DO NOT SMOKE better than a slice of human flesh that looked like it had been left out in the sun for days.

Massachusetts is getting graphic too. Pending approval of the Public Health Council, the state will require its 9,000 convenience stores, pharmacies, and gas stations to show posters of the physical harm caused by smoking by tobacco racks and cash registers. Consumers will have to look at pictures of degenerated lung mass and decayed teeth before making their tobacco purchases. The hope is that some of those consumers will rethink their choice. Massachusetts will be the first state to mandate anti-smoking posters at retailers and will follow New York City's lead, which has been successfully waging its own campaign (check out the pictures). Retailers will suffer $200-$300 fines if they don't put up the posters.

San Francisco should create a similar program. San Francisco already has some momentum for change with the second-hand smoking ordinance. The City should run with it. Money should not be a concern either. Massachusetts has accessed $316,000 in federal stimulus money from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to do the posters. Local workers get jobs making the posters. Maybe the City can get similar funds. Let's do it!

I always recoil when I think about the lung slice that I saw while tabling. I don't smoke and seeing the lung slice makes me not want to smoke even more. Let's hope Massachusetts succeeds in deterring people with its poster program. Why can't we do the same here?

Stay in Touch

Keep track of the work Butt Out is doing by going to our website (www.butt-out.org/), friending us on Facebook (butt-outsanfrancisco) or by connecting with us on Twitter (twitter.com/buttoutsf).Butt Out is a project of Breathe California, funded by the San Francisco Tobacco Free Project, which works to get tobacco money out of LGBT community organizations in San Francisco. We also educate the public about the hazards of smoking and about smoking cessation.

The Misinformation is Out There

Sorry, I’ve been missing in action for awhile. I’ll do a new blog post next week. This week I’m posting a letter to the editor that will hopefully be printed in the BAR soon. The letter, written by Butt Out’s Brian Davis, is a response to a recent “Guest Opinion” piece in the BAR which suggests that the new secondhand smoke law is unnecessary:

http://ebar.com/openforum/opforum.php?sec=guest_op&id=268.

This piece, written by a member of the LGBT community, is filled with misinformation and misguided conclusions based on incomplete information, that I feel ultimately serves to encourage smokers to continue smoking rather than inspiring them to quit. Here’s Brian’s letter. See you next week!

“I am writing in response to the guest opinion article: “New smoking ban is not needed.” The article suggests that secondhand smoke is not a serious health concern, when in fact 53,000 people a year in the U.S. die because of it, and the Surgeon General has determined that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

It’s true that smoking rates in general have gone down, but the LGBT community in California is still smoking at very high rates: 30.4% overall -- twice as much as everyone else. It’s ironic that the article suggests we should spend more money educating “marginalized populations at most risk of smoking” without mentioning that the LGBT community is among the most at risk, and without realizing that the new law will help inspire the 70% of LGBT smokers who want to quit to break free from their addiction.

It is not true that there was a parade of children in front of the Supervisors talking about how smoking on bar patios affects their asthma. The youngest to testify were a few high school students, and they didn’t talk about smoking in bars.

Also, it is inaccurate to suggest that taking these practical measures to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke in bar environments will be harmful to business. Many other cities have similar laws and their bars have continued to thrive, often drawing additional customers who enjoy breathing air free of smoke drawn in from open doorways to the street or outdoor patios, and who enjoy being outdoors at a bar without having to inhale toxic fumes.

And yes, the air in outdoor smoking patios is toxic. A recent Stanford study demonstrated that exposure to tobacco smoke outside can be just as hazardous as indoor levels, increasing non-smoker’s risk of heart disease, asthma, and many other diseases caused by smoking.

Finally, the name of the group that advocated for the new law is the San Francisco Tobacco Free Coalition, not the “Anti-Smoking Coalition” as the article claims. We are working for the health of this city by helping protect people of all ages from exposure to secondhand smoke and helping the vast majority of smokers who want to quit get the help they need to break free from tobacco.

Brian Davis
Project Coordinator

BUTT OUT! Ending Tobacco Industry Exploitation of the LGBT Community
On behalf of the San Francisco Tobacco Free Coalition”

Stay in Touch

Keep track of the work Butt Out is doing by going to our website (www.butt-out.org/), friending us on Facebook (butt-outsanfrancisco) or by connecting with us on Twitter (twitter.com/buttoutsf).Butt Out is a project of Breathe California, funded by the San Francisco Tobacco Free Project, which works to get tobacco money out of LGBT community organizations in San Francisco. We also educate the public about the hazards of smoking and about smoking cessation.

FDA Champions Youth In New Rule

Both of my parents smoke. Their brand of choice is Marlboro. Back in the day in the 1980s my parents took advantage of the "Marlboro Mile" program to accumulate free knick-knacks with the Marlboro logo on it. My parents spent so much money on cigarettes and we were poor. Why not fill the house with free Marlboro mugs and other accoutrements? We had every conceivable item, including Marlboro logoed camping tents that we pitched in the living room. Every day I had an added reminder that cigarettes existed. I was given the message that smoking and heavy smoking won you cool stuff.

I didn't pick up smoking, but my other siblings did. Only one of my siblings has broken free of the habit.

My family's experience is not an isolated one. Big Tobacco has its hooks in our youth, particularly our LGBT youth. Every day nearly 4,000 kids under 18 try their first cigarette and 1,000 kids under 18 become daily smokers. National youth smoking rates range from 28% to 35% for adolescents. The numbers are even bleaker for LGBT youth in California. Fully 43.7% of them smoke! LGBT youth smoke for so many reasons, principally out of a sense of alienation at being gay in an antigay world. The tobacco companies have pounced on LGBT youth insecurity and vulnerability in their marketing efforts at youth generally. It is a moral horror.

Enter the feds in white hats. Recently the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule banning numerous Big Tobacco practices impacting our youth. The rule is a creative and comprehensive effort to protect our youth that will save many LGBT youth as well from picking up the deadly tobacco habit.

Most of the rule reinstates a 1996 rule that was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000. The Supreme Court stated that the FDA overstepped its powers because they did not have the authority to regulate tobacco. Congress licked that problem in 2009 with passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

The FDA bans a good number of practices. They ban tobacco sales to minors, sales of cigarettes in less than 20-pack size, sample giveaways, and tobacco sponsorship of sports, music and other events. Those provisions were in the old 1996 rule and were in part adopted by the tobacco companies in the Master Settlement Agreement. The rule bans other things including sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in vending machines and self-service displays, music and sound effects in audio tobacco ads, and sale or distribution of items like hats and t-shirts with tobacco brands or logos. A controversial part of the rule is the mandate that most tobacco advertising and labeling be displayed only in black text on a white background. The tobacco companies have rushed to sue over this provision. Stay tuned.

Let's hope the FDA's action will be but one step in the fight against Big Tobacco's targeting of our youth. Then we can send that Marlboro camping tent and the bag of "goodies" inside of it to the wilderness.

Stay in Touch

Keep track of the work Butt Out is doing by going to our website (www.butt-out.org/), friending us on Facebook (butt-outsanfrancisco) or by connecting with us on Twitter (twitter.com/buttoutsf).

Butt Out is a project of Breathe California, funded by the San Francisco Tobacco Free Project, which works to get tobacco money out of LGBT community organizations in San Francisco. We also educate the public about the hazards of smoking and about smoking cessation.

Iowa Hate Group Claims Same-Sex Marriage is Worse than Smoking

You read that right. An anti-gay organization in Iowa called the Iowa Family Policy Center is saying that same-sex marriage is worse than smoking. This claim not only comes from left field but is appalling in the face of statistics on smoking showing the deadly toll of smoking on the population. As mentioned before in this blog, smoking kills more people than murder, suicide, traffic accidents, drugs and alcohol combined!

The lack of sensitivity and understanding is incredible. Just listen to what the president of the group, Chuck Hurley, has to say:

“The Iowa Legislature outlawed smoking in an effort to improve health and reduce the medical costs that are often passed on to the state. The secondhand impacts of certain homosexual acts are arguably more destructive, and potentially more costly to society than smoking.”

The "secondhand impacts" that Hurley refers to deals with a U.S. Centers for Disease Control report that showed gay men have higher rates of HIV and syphilis. Hurley claims that giving same-sex couples the right to marry will increase the rates of HIV and syphilis in Iowa.

Penalizing gay people and withholding their rights stigmatizes people. Many new transmissions of HIV and syphilis happen to people who do not know their status. People in loving married couples can draw on family and community support to empower themselves and seek the knowledge and services necessary to remain HIV negative or to seek treatment if they become HIV positive. Witholding civil rights like marriage exacerbates the rate of infection.

The comment about smoking calls for special attention. Smoking kills people on a massive scale. I learned recently that one third of the world's population smokes. Smoking causes disease in about half of smokers. Tobacco is the only product marketed that kills its users when used as directed. One cannot ignore the terrible swath of destruction that smoking has blazed in our lives.

Compare that to same-sex marriage or to marriage in general. Marriage solidifies the love and commitment of two people. Their lives are intertwined and strengthened by the union. Our society strongly sanctions marriage. Everyone from our immediate families to the IRS gives support to married couples. Marriage is a stabilizing force in people's lives that positively impacts gay lives as well as straight lives. The comparison to smoking completely falls flat in the face of the benefits of same-sex marriage in the lives of LGBT people and in the community at large. Just listen to Butt Out coordinator Brian Davis describing his marriage with his husband Ted and the comparison to smoking:

"My 22 years with Ted has invigorated my life. Smoking destroys life. Getting married brought me and Ted closer together. Tobacco tears families apart forever through death and disability. There is no comparing same-sex marriage and smoking."

Let's tell the haters in Iowa to get their facts and their values straight. Same-sex marriage is a bond that shines. Smoking casts a heavy pall on all of us.

Stay in Touch

Keep track of the work Butt Out is doing by going to our website (www.butt-out.org/), friending us on Facebook (butt-outsanfrancisco) or by connecting with us on Twitter (twitter.com/buttoutsf).

Butt Out is a project of Breathe California, funded by the San Francisco Tobacco Free Project, which works to get tobacco money out of LGBT community organizations in San Francisco. We also educate the public about the hazards of smoking and about smoking cessation.

Smoking Triggers Recurrence of Cancer in HIV+ People

Smoking negatively impacts the health of people with HIV. People with HIV have weakened immune systems that are bolstered but not completely bolstered by life extending anti-viral medication. Smoking makes it harder to fight off HIV related illnesses, especially those dealing with the lungs. The damaging effects of smoking on HIV+ people is illustrated by the results of a recent study looking at the effects of smoking on the recurrence of head and neck cancer.

Some HIV+ people contract the human-papillomavirus (HPV). HPV can cause head and neck cancer. It is possible for HIV+ people to fight off the illness and put the cancer into remission. That time free from cancer can be cut short because of smoking.

University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor scientists looked at 124 patients who were treated at the University of Michigan for squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx. They compared rates of recurrence in HIV+ people who smoked compared to those who did not smoke. Overall, 82.3% had HPV-positive tumors. Among these patients, only 32.3% had never used tobacco. Current smokers were more than five times more likely to have a recurrence!

The cancer can be caused by HPV negative and positive viruses. Among those with HPV-positive tumors, the rate of recurrence was highest among current tobacco users (34.8%), followed by former users (19.6%) and those who had never used tobacco (6%). The recurrence rate among patients with HPV-negative tumors, who had all used tobacco at some point, was the highest at 50%.

The investigators noted potential limitations in the statistical analysis for the study, which included two different cohorts that differed in gender distribution, HPV-positivity, treatment regimens, and follow-up times.

Stay in Touch

Keep track of the work Butt Out is doing by going to our website (www.butt-out.org/), friending us on Facebook (butt-outsanfrancisco) or by connecting with us on Twitter (twitter.com/buttoutsf).

Butt Out is a project of Breathe California, funded by the San Francisco Tobacco Free Project, which works to get tobacco money out of LGBT community organizations in San Francisco. We also educate the public about the hazards of smoking and about smoking cessation.

Brian Davis Goes 'Out in the Bay'

Last Thursday Butt Out's Brian Davis had an exciting interview on "Out in the Bay," an LGBT themed show on KALW 91.7 FM. You can listen to the show on www.kalw.org. He talked about the problem of LGBT smoking, how the tobacco companies target the LGBT community, the special impact of smoking on LGBT youth and the work that Butt Out is doing to fight the tobacco companies in the community.

Brian entered the interview with a lot of passion. Brian is personally motivated to do anti-tobacco advocacy. He has asthma and chafed as a child at having to inhale the smoke from his father's cigarettes. He was also pained to see his father try over and over again to quit his two pack a day habit. Brian had a lot to offer on the interview that came from a personal place.

Brian highlighted a number of powerful considerations in the fight against big tobacco.

Smoking is a Highly Prevalent Killer in the LGBT Community

LGBT people smoke more than straight people - two times more. Gay men smoke 50% more than straight men in California. Lesbians smoke three times more than straight women. LGBT people also start smoking younger than straight people, at ages 14 or 15. Some research indicates that it is significantly harder to quit smoking if a person starts smoking before age 18. The smoking rates are hard to hear considering that tobacco kills more people than murder, suicide, traffic accidents, drugs and alcohol combined! LGBT people are disproportionately counted in the 400,000 tobacco deaths every year in the United States.

Smoking Hits LGBT Youth Hard

Brian discussed the troubling problem of LGBT youth smoking. Fully 43.7% of LGBT youth smoke in California - nearly half of the LGBT youth population! A 2006 University of Minnesota study highlighted some of the reasons why. Many youth suffered trauma, abuse and ostracism from their homes and communities for being gay. Smoking is a way to escape the pain and make friends. "Do you have a light" is a conversation starter for the young LGBT person searching for community. Brian emphasized that the the community needs to take steps to change its face with respect to smoking so that LGBT youth have different models to emulate in their behavior. Brian pointed to Butt Out's Grim Reaper event as an example of the community coming together against tobacco. The Grim Reaper event was a bit of street theater in the Castro where the tobacco "Grim Reaper" was chased out of the neighborhood. The LGBT community needs to do more to steer LGBT youth down the right path.

The Tobacco Companies Target the LGBT Community

While still reticent to embrace a highly stigmatized community, tobacco companies have targeted the LGBT community in an effort to turn our community's fierce brand loyalty into equally fierce addiction. The tobacco companies have used advertising as a weapon in their arsenal. Genre magazine in 1992 published the first pro-gay tobacco ad. Since then the tobacco companies have put out ads purporting to support gay rights even as they push cigarettes on gay people. One recent ad in fact equated the freedom to marry with the freedom to inhale tobacco smoke. Brian expressed his shock at the demeaning of our struggle for equality as well as at the hypocrisy of an industry that supports conservative politicians as well as LGBT organizations.

Butt Out Works with LGBT Organizations to Combat Big Tobacco

Brian pointed out that tobacco companies try to garner support in the community by giving money to LGBT organizations. They try to leverage the good will of the organizations to make themselves look good. The support is inch deep - they spend more money advertising the fact that they support LGBT organizations than actually funding LGBT organizations.

Butt Out is inoculating the LGBT community against tobacco company machinations by getting organizations to spurn tobacco funding and adopt tobacco-free funding policies. The work is hard to do in these difficult funding times. Brian pointed out that companies can see the justice of Butt Out's position by considering whether they would take money from a company whose product gave AIDS to half its consumers. An organization should consider taking tobacco money as unconscionable as taking money from the hypothetical company.

Butt Out can point to some successes in its work. 20 Bay Area based LGBT organizations have tobacco-free policies, including the National Center for Lesbian Rights and San Francisco Pride. All LGBT politicians in the Bay Area such as Mark Leno have pledged not to accept campaign donations from tobacco companies. Butt Out continues to raise consciousness in community organizations and add to the community of groups rejecting tobacco funding.

Stay in Touch!

Stay tuned to this blog for more news of Butt Out community activism, interviews and events.

Keep track of the work Butt Out is doing by going to our website (www.butt-out.org/), friending us on Facebook (butt-outsanfrancisco) or by connecting with us on Twitter (twitter.com/buttoutsf).

Butt Out is a project of Breathe California, funded by the San Francisco Tobacco Free Project, which works to get tobacco money out of LGBT community organizations in San Francisco. We also educate the public about the hazards of smoking and about smoking cessation.

Second-hand smoking ordinance hearing next Monday, February 22, 1pm at City Hall!

I hate going to outdoor dining areas and having my dinner interrupted by a neighbor's smoke. Marlboro Reds just don't go with filet mignon - or anything else for that matter. A night at the movies is similarly dampened when I have to breathe noxious fumes from someone upstream in the waiting line. I want to unleash some silver screen super hero whoop-ass when the odor hits my olfactory senses. Second hand smoke is a nuisance and a threat to my health. It is a public health concern that all San Franciscans are challenged with.

Educate yourself on the ordinance below and if you feel like making your voice heard, come down to the hearing and comment.

Legislation that would expand the non-smoking areas in San Francisco will be discussed by the Board of Supervisors Land Use and Economic Development Committee on February 22. The ordinance, introduced by Supervisor Eric Mar, would represent a far reaching effort to reduce second hand smoke in public accommodations. Amendments to address business concerns, particularly bar owner concerns, are expected to be voted on. If the ordinance passes, San Francisco will become one of 18 Bay Area cities that protect citizens from second hand smoke hazards in public areas. San Francisco will also follow a nationwide trend. As of April 2009, there were 37 states with some form of smoking ban.

Secondhand smoke is the combination of smoke given off by the burning end of a tobacco product and the smoke exhaled by the smoker. Research has generated evidence that secondhand smoke causes the same problems as direct smoking. Approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths occur each year among adult nonsmokers in the United States as a result of exposure to secondhand smoke. In the United States, secondhand smoke is thought to cause about 46,000 heart disease deaths each year. Extensive scientific research has shown that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Locally, secondhand smoke represents dangers to patrons. For example, secondhand smoke levels from outdoor dining areas at two unnamed cafes in North Beach are considered dangerous by the EPA (see picture).

The proposed ordinance would update Article 19F of the San Francisco Health Code, the landmark legislation adopted in 1994 that protects residents and visitors from second hand smoke. The ordinance bans smoking in a number of venues. Some of the areas where the ban would take effect are dining areas, movie lines and building entrances. San Francisco's ordinance would break new ground in the effort to reduce second hand smoke among citizens.

Some businesses argue that the smoking ban will harm their business by turning off patrons who want to enjoy some poisonous fumes with their dinner, drink, or what have you. These fears are unfounded. More patrons will flock to businesses once they know that the establishment will be safe and pleasing without cigarette smoke. A 2006 review by the U.S. Surgeon General found that smoking bans were unlikely to harm businesses in practice, and that many restaurants and bars might see increased business. According to the 2004 Zagat survey, which polled nearly 30,000 New York City restaurant patrons, respondents said by a margin of almost 6 to 1 that they eat out more often now because of the city's smoke-free policy. San Francisco's businesses as well as patrons can gain from passage of the second hand smoke ordinance.

Stay tuned for updates on the ordinance. There is a lot to learn and gain!

Keep track of the work Butt Out is doing by going to our website (www.butt-out.org/), friending us on Facebook (butt-outsanfrancisco) or by connecting with us on Twitter (twitter.com/buttoutsf).Butt Out is a project of Breathe California, funded by the San Francisco Tobacco Free Project, which works to get tobacco money out of LGBT community organizations in San Francisco. We also educate the public about the hazards of smoking and about smoking cessation.

As if secondhand smoke were not bad enough...

Do you know how tobacco smoke gets everywhere? In a person's hair, on their clothes, on furniture and the walls? I have to totally fumigate my belongings after visiting my sister's house. Lingering tobacco smoke marks a place like a scarlet letter.

It now looks like the lingering smoke is dangerous in addition to being stinky. Researchers have recently found that smoke that settles on surfaces interacts with those surfaces to create cancer causing chemicals that don’t even exist in tobacco smoke alone! Check out an article discussing the findings here: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aTVcuy71TmGE.

The findings are a double whammy for smokers and nonsmokers alike. Not only does the smoker inhale dangerous chemicals directly from the cigarette, but now the smoker is inhaling dangerous chemicals generated by the smoke that sticks to the furniture. Nonsmokers have to deal with this danger too in addition to dealing with the hazards of inhaling smokers' noxious fumes.

Researchers don't know how "thirdhand" smoke, as they are calling it, factors into the global death and illness rate suffered by people suffering from tobacco related illnesses, but I'm sure more work will be done in this area to pin down the impact of this phenomenon. I personally cringe at the thought of what my siblings and I were exposed to growing up. Both of my parents smoked heavily in the house and in the car. Smoke was everywhere. If only my parents had a better appreciation of the risks involved in their smoking. Their habit wasn't just about them individually. My brother has two little girls now. He is a smoker but doesn't smoke in the house. The is better than nothing, but he should know about the study and how having smoke on himself poses a risk alone. How scary!

Keep track of the work Butt Out is doing by going to our website (www.butt-out.org/), friending us on Facebook (butt-outsanfrancisco) or by connecting with us on Twitter (twitter.com/buttoutsf).Butt Out is a project of Breathe California, funded by the San Francisco Tobacco Free Project, which works to get tobacco money out of LGBT community organizations in San Francisco. We also educate the public about the hazards of smoking and about smoking cessation.