TORONTO — Members of the LGBTQ community in Thunder Bay will receive help to quit smoking if they choose to take advantage of a new project funded by the federal government.
Health Minister Patty Hajdu recently announced an investment of up to $2.8 million in a University of Toronto-led initiative targeting smokers in Thunder Bay, Toronto and Montreal.
The university is developing a social marketing and smoking cessation initiative in collaboration with the Canadian Cancer Society, Egale Canada and members of LGBTQ communities.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, the project will include "a combination of targeted social media messaging, working with local champions and social influencers, developing online resources, and participating in local events within LGBTQ communities,"
It will also offer tobacco cessation programming along with resources to deal with some of the challenges that can contribute to smoking.
Studies have shown that smoking rates are significantly higher among young adults in LGBTQ communities (35 per cent) than in the same age group in the heterosexual population (23 per cent).
Professor Robert Schwartz of the U of T's School of Public Health says more research will determine the reason for the disparity, but one theory is "there's a relationship between stigma, stress and smoking, and that general tobacco interventions don't take that into account."
Schwartz said it's believed that a tailored intervention program for LGBTQ people is required.
He said Thunder Bay was chosen to participate along with Canada's two largest cities because the project team wanted to include a small, rural centre.
"We thought about Thunder Bay, and we reached out to people in the public health field that we know there, and they confirmed that it would match," he said.
A local partner for the project has already been identified.
The study team expects to visit the city next month to lay the groundwork with the local agency.
Focus groups will be established as early as March, with a survey to be distributed by May.
"All along, we'll be working closely with LGBTQ organizations to carry this out," Schwartz said.
Considerable market research is needed, he said, before intervention programs are designed.
They may not be ready for implementation until 2021.
