'Lesbians puff away'

Oslo - Almost twice as many gay women smoke as compared to heterosexual women, the Norwegian gay monthly magazine Blikk reported in its latest edition.

Blikk said 42% of lesbians smoked compared to 27% of heterosexual women, citing statistics from a 2002 parliamentary report. Statistics did not suggest a major difference in smoking habits between gay and heterosexual men.

Kari Huseby of the directorate for health social affairs said the agency was not aware of the difference.

"We will have to study the figures more closely and see how we can tackle the problem. If smoking is that common among lesbians, then we have to focus more on that group," Huseby told Blikk.

Any possible quit-smoking programmes would be co-ordinated with the gay and homosexual organizations, Huseby said.

Karl Erik Lund, researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research (SIRUS), was not surprised over the difference.

"Although there is little Norwegian research on this area, American data indicate the same," Lund told Oslo daily Aftenposten, adding that the tobacco industry specially targeted lesbian and gay men to start smoking.

"The reason lesbian women smoke so much more than heterosexual women has an explanation. Cigarettes are used to cope with stress, a survival strategy," Lund said.

Rolf Angeltvedt of the organisation Gay and Lesbian Health Norway did not rule out organising anti-smoking programmes but said he viewed greater abuse of hashish and other drugs among gays and lesbians as a greater problem than smoking. -Sapa-dpa

- SAPA