Q&A: LGBT pride in ending nicotine and tobacco use

Five truth activists gathered at the Capital Pride Festival in Washington, D.C. to engage attendees and expose the tobacco industry’s history of targeting the LGBT community. Decades of targeted marketing in the LGBT community has contributed to higher prevalence of tobacco use in the community, with research finding that prevalence of e-cigarette use increased among LGBT youth between 2020 and 2021, with higher prevalence among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth compared to heterosexual youth. Truth Initiative spoke with three of the five youth activists gathered at the Capital Pride Festival: Kacey King, a truth activist from Georgia; Marc Hawk III, a truth Ambassador from Alabama; and Faria Tavacoli, a truth activist from Nevada.

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E-cigarettes: Facts, stats and regulations

While e-cigarette use prevalence has declined significantly since the heyday of JUUL – 10% of high school students reported using e-cigarettes in 2023 – e-cigarette use among young people remains a concern. Thousands of flavored, high-nicotine, and relatively cheap e-cigarette products remain on the market, many of them illegally, driving youth use and nicotine addiction.

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