Tobacco surveillance for LGBTs: The challenge and successes

Accumulating evidence of exceptionally high smoking rates among lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBTs) has spurred increased attention to reducing this health disparity. For many states, the initial step in this process is to measure the extent of the health disparity through inclusion of LGBT questions on surveillance instruments. But tested national models for LGBT surveillance are lacking. This session will review the different methods of measuring LGBT status on state and national surveillance instruments relevant to tobacco control. An overview will be given of the best question designs, their level of testing, feasibility and implementation. A summary of available LGBT smoking prevalence data will be given, as reported from the different surveillance instruments. The recommended steps for adding LGBT questions to additional instruments will be outlined and the need highlighted through analysis of where data are lacking.