Smoking Discrimination Moderates the Relationship between Smoking Stigma and Cigarettes Per Day among Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals.

Background

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals report rates of tobacco use that range from 19% to 40% compared to roughly 20% of the general population. Higher rates of tobacco use, compounded by stress from discrimination, contribute to lower cessation rates and worse smoking-related outcomes for SGM individuals. Having multiple stigmatized identities, such as identifying as SGM and being a person who uses cigarettes, may further increase smoking, and decrease the likelihood of cessation. Smoking-related stigma is one relatively unexplored factor that may be related to smoking frequency.

Objectives

The present study sought to examine how smoking stigma was related to smoking frequency, and how discrmination moderates the relationship between smoking stigma and cigarettes per day.

Results

A sample of 399 self-identified SGM individuals (Mage = 36.69) was collected via Qualtrics Panels. Participants were primarily White and bisexual. Participants completed a battery of questions, including measures regarding smoking frequency (operationalized in this article as cigarettes per day [CPD]), smoking felt-stigma, smoking self-stigma, and smoking discrimination. Moderation analyses revealed significant interactions of felt- and self-stigma with smoking-related discrimination. For individuals who perceived higher levels of both self- and felt-stigma, experiencing increased smoking discrimination was associated with increased smoking frequency. However, there was no significant interaction with discrimination for individuals who had lower levels of felt- and self-stigma. Results have implications for smoking reduction and cessation. Helping individuals who have higher levels of felt- and self-stigma manage stress related to being stigmatized may motivate individuals to reduce smoking. Ultimately, these findings can play a role in crafting smoking reduction and cessation programs targeted toward SGM communities, particularly individuals who experience high levels of smoking-related stigma.