Website Looks to Help LGBT Cigarette Smokers Quit

Dear Community Member,

Although some of you have already received this announcement, we wanted to send it out one last time as we are in the final stages of recruitment for the study and are hoping to reach those few people we may have missed.

Please pass this e-mail on to members of your QueerNet Group and those who may be interested in hearing about our study. Your help is greatly appreciated.

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News: Website Looks to Help LGBT Cigarette Smokers Quit

San Francisco, CA- Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) are currently recruiting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) cigarette smokers for a study that looks to evaluate the use of the Internet to assist people in quitting smoking. (http://iquit.medschool.ucsf.edu).

This study comes on the heels of research showing high rates of smoking in the LGBT community. In some parts of the community, LGBT smoking rates can be as much as 50% higher than their heterosexual counterparts. This along with the fact that smoking kills more people each year than HIV/AIDS, car accidents, and drug and alcohol use combined, makes smoking treatment programs an emerging public health priority for LGBT individuals.

The study will compare two Internet-based smoking treatments: one that provides general information that has been helpful in a variety of smoking treatment programs, another that includes the general information plus information and support designed especially for an LGBT audience. Smokers will be randomly selected to participate in one or the other. Researchers hope to enroll 600 participants over the course of a year. The purpose of the study is to determine if either treatment results in higher rates of use, more quit attempts, or higher quit rates.

iQuit is unique in offering participants cessation services that are highly convenient and private. LGBTs can access the site’s resources any time of day, from multiple locations, and their participation is kept confidential. To be eligible for the study, individuals must be 18 years of age or older and identify as LGBT.

For more information about this study, visit the iQuit website at http://iquit.medschool.ucsf.edu.

(Please pass this e-mail on to other LGBTs who might be interested in the study. If you would like posters, flyers, or postcards to display in your community, please contact Anthony Taylor at taylora@itsa.ucsf.edu or by calling us toll free at 866-895-8050.)

http://iquit.medschool.ucsf.edu