National Media Collaboration, A Gay Editor’s Journey to Become Smoke-Free…

We are in an era where there is too little LGBT Media coverage of tobacco control efforts, a definite lack of LGBT Educational opportunities about our disparity, and a clear need of education around smart cessation options to help our communities break the nicotine addiction. In Pictures Worth a Thousand Words: Noncommercial Tobacco Content in the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Press (Smith EA, Offen N, Malone RE, 2006) we understand that “The predominant message about tobacco use in the LGB press is positive or neutral; tobacco is often glamorized”. History has shown us that tobacco use is not only glamorized but normalized within our community. LGBT people smoke cigarettes at rates 68% higher than the general population, and editors still continue to support pro tobacco imagery.

This week the Network has embarked on one of the largest media collaborations to date. We are pleased to announce our newest partnership with Bill Browing, in his quest to break the nicotine addiction. If you don’t know, Bil Browing is the Founder & Editor in Chief for the Bilerico Project, the 4th largest LGBT blog in the country. Bill has decided that for his 40th birthday he is going to celebrate by quitting smoking. As an Editor in Chief of an LGBT Blog he is going public changing the social norms of tobacco glamorization in the media, and has reached out to the Network for support.

Click here to read the introductory blog by Scout, and leave comments for Bil to show your support. Pass this on to your Network, share his updates through your social media channels, encourage others to follow and make comments as well. We have an amazing opportunity to follow a gay mans journey, in a very public way, and we hope his story inspires others to follow suit. United we can show him there is a community rallying around him, and together we can encourage the LGBT communities to break the nicotine addiction. Please take a moment to comment and share the blog today, the time is now to take a stand and combat the glorification of tobacco in LGBT media, while supporting a gay editor in his journey to become tobacco free.