In 2018, San Francisco Community Health Center launched its first tobacco control and prevention program. The goal of the Healthy Bay Area Futures Program is to reduce tobacco-related health disparities in the LGBTQ+ community through increased availability of tobacco cessation resources delivered by culturally competent providers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking is the leading preventable cause of death. Over the past 10 years, the smoking rate of LGBTQ+ populations has dropped by nearly half – the biggest drop of any group. Big Tobacco doesn’t just sell cigarettes anymore – they’ve flooded the market with new tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes, to keep people addicted. Unfortunately, the overall tobacco use rate for LGBTQ+ populations is still high at 24%
Adapted from: http://tobaccofreeca.com/story-of-inequity/lgbtq
Program Goals
- Tobacco control and prevention
- Promote LGBTQ-specific tobacco cessation protocols
- Reduce the availability of flavored tobacco products in the Bay Area
- Create a Bay Area LGBTQ+ Tobacco Policy Coalition
Tobacco Control and Prevention: Key players
SF Community Heath Center is a CTCP grantee focusing on the LGBTQ+ priority population