Date: 07/01/2010

Category: · Writing  » News Coverage  » Bay Area Reporter · Writing  » Topic  » lgbt · Writing  » Topic  » science

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An Eagle Tavern patron at a recent cigar event. Photo: RichStadtmiller

The open-air patios at Castro-area bars like The Pilsner and The Mix are great places to catch a little sun, meet up with friends, pick up a phone number or two ... and if you smoke, maybe develop a little erectile dysfunction.

Although the health consequences of smoking are well known, LGBTs are 40 to 70 percent more likely to smoke than non-LGBTs, according to the National Coalition for LGBT health.

To accommodate their smoking patrons, a handful of venues around the Castro provide smoking areas. At Trigger, for example, smokers are provided with an area of about 100 square feet with seating, ashtrays, and regular cleaning.

"We want to keep people contained within the club as much as possible, so there's not too much noise coming from the patrons," Trigger spokesman Lord Martine said. "We don't want to bother the neighbors."

He acknowledged that smokers' numbers seem to be dwindling. "I think that people are smoking less," he said. "But I'm a former smoker, so I'm on that bandwagon."

Although restaurant owners tend to oppose smoking restrictions, a ban on open-air smoking wouldn't necessarily impose hardship on most venues.

"If it was universal, it would affect us all," said Larry Metzger, owner of The Mix. "If they ban it in the whole city, then I'm in the same boat with everyone else."

At the Pilsner, smoker Leo Hughet considered the impact of a stricter smoking ban. "If I wasn't able to smoke here, I wouldn't stop coming," he said. But, he added, the smoking patio is a definite draw for him.

Chris Ducoing, a member of the Pilsner Penguins softball team, agreed. "I'd still come," he said, even if he couldn't smoke. "This is one of the better patios."

The smoking lounge at Q Bar

Having eliminated smoking indoors, anti-smoking laws are likely to turn next to outdoor areas. A 2009 document entitled "Fundamentals of Smokefree Workplace Laws," agreed to by a consortium of public health organizations including the American Cancer Society and The American Heart Association, advised just such an approach.

"Tobacco control advocates should work 'from the inside out,'" the document stated. "Prior to addressing outdoor restrictions, communities should first have effective smoke-free laws for indoor environments. ... There is emerging science on the health hazards of outdoor exposure to secondhand smoke."

According to the National LGBT Tobacco Control Network, even short exposure to secondhand smoke can increase the risk of heart attack and lead to asthma attacks.

Outdoor exposure to smoke is more than just a health hazard; it may actually directly benefit the tobacco industry, since exposure has been shown to lure former smokers back to their habit.

"For smokers who are trying to quit, just passing all the people out front who are smoking is often a trigger for an urge to have a cigarette," said Dr. Gary Humfleet with UCSF's Department of Psychiatry.

Humfleet is the director of iQuit, an ongoing study into the efficacy of online cessation programs for LGBT smokers. Although smoking habits have been studied for 50 years, "it's only recently that we've seen any data specific to LGBTs," he said.

It's still unclear why LGBTs are more at risk. "It may be that smoking is a way to cope with the stress of being LGBT," said Humfleet. "It may be that historically, gay bars have served as community centers, particularly outside of urban areas, and those have long been associated with smoking. ... It may have something to do with access to health care."

Indeed, lack of access to cessation services is a significant obstacle to quitting. That's the reasoning behind SB220, a bill introduced by State Senator Leland Yee that would mandate that insurers cover cessation programs. Similar legislation was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger - himself a cigar aficionado - in 2006.

In the end, it may be a combination of stricter smoking laws and improved access to cessation programs that reduces the heightened rates of smoking-related illness among LGBTs.

"One of the things that we do know is that restrictions on smoking have helped reduce the smoking rate overall," said USCF's Professor Humfleet. "If you look at states that haven't implemented the policies that California has, you see much higher rates in general."