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Gays, lesbians more likely to smoke

Gay, bisexual and transgender men are 2 to 2.5 times more likely to smoke than heterosexual men, according to a new American Lung Association report that examines tobacco use in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

The document also says that lesbian, bisexual and transgender women are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to smoke than heterosexual women, and that bisexual boys and girls have higher smoking rates than their heterosexual and homosexual peers.

The report was released "to raise awareness of this health disparity and address the need for additional research specific to the LGBT community and tobacco use," Charles D. Connor, president and CEO of the American Lung Association, said in news release.

"Like other groups disproportionately affected by tobacco use, including African Americans and Native Americans, the LGBT population needs targeted efforts to reduce smoking rates, which ultimately save lives," he added. - (HealthDay News, July 2010)

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