Its gay to smoke commercial

This was not a genuine public service announcement (PSA) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but it was a satirical publication from T. In mid-April , a TikTok video purported to show an anti-smoking PSA that said, "It's gay to smoke." The end of the clip claimed: "Brought to you by the U.S. Centers for Disease. Most gay men are at least slightly less masculine in their thoughts and feelings, and most are drawn to at least some things that are traditionally geared towards females.

It's Gay to Smoke Commercial: A anti smoking commercial. One fake ad features high school boys who meet furtively in the hallway, then sneak to the restroom. "Are they smoking? Or are they gay?" asks the ad. The latest news, analysis and opinion from Cancer Research UK. This is the second instalment of our series on health inequalities, where we explore the unfair and avoidable differences in cancer incidence and outcomes across society.

Our first post looked at what health inequalities are, and how we can reduce them. The link between tobacco and cancer is very well established. Decades of research show that smoking increases the risk of at least 15 different types of cancer. We know that smoking is more common in some population groups than others. But if most people know that smoking is bad for them, why is this the case?

This question is fundamental to understanding inequalities in cancer, and the answer is very complex. Around 4 in 10 cancer cases in the UK are preventable, through things like not smoking and keeping a healthy weight. So, why do we continue putting our health at risk, if we know how to be healthy? Some people are more likely to try a cigarette than others, and often factors outside of our control can make all the difference.

For many, that first puff paves the way to long-lasting addiction. Smoking is the biggest preventable cause of cancer. And because some groups are more likely to smoke and find it harder to stop, smoking is also the single biggest driver of cancer inequalities. We spoke to Professor Jamie Hartmann-Boyce about the groups most at risk. But differences in the availability of stop smoking support are only part of the picture.

To understand disparities in smoking, we also need to look at factors that determine how likely someone is to smoke. The factors that underly health and health behaviours are many and complex.

And one of the most powerful determinants is the family environment — in particular, parental smoking. What might this look like in real life? A child living in a more deprived area might live with someone who smokes, grow up near to more shops that sell cigarettes, be exposed to more tobacco imagery in the media, and have friends that smoke. Seeing something regularly can make that thing seem more normal and less risky.

In mid-April , a

Where industry is involved, public health can get pushed aside for profit. This is unfortunately the case for lots of cancer causes, but especially for tobacco. The industry has encouraged smoking through various means, including advertising, ease of access, and visibility of products in shops. These measures corresponded with sustained decreases in smoking rates in the UK.

But the tobacco industry still has ways of finding new customers, and from a commercial point of view, the younger they start, the better. According to ONS data from , smoking was far higher in people identifying as gay or lesbian There are many other reasons for higher smoking rates in some marginalised groups, and the Venn diagram of at-risk groups overlaps considerably. And people living with mental health conditions are, themselves, at a higher risk of smoking.

These overlaps are no mere coincidence. Inequalities in health, economic inequalities and social marginalisation are all inextricably linked.