Trust in tobacco control: Critical perspectives from sexual and gender minority young adults in California, USA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55016/ojs/jcph.v1i1.77929Keywords:
qualitative research, Inequities, Tobacco Control, Nicotine and tobacco, LGBTQIA+, Institutional trust, Harm reductionAbstract
Sexual and gender minority (SGM) groups experience nicotine and tobacco (NT) related inequities that persist despite reductions in NT use across the general population. Although institutional trust has important implications for how public health policies are received, few studies have explored trust in tobacco control institutions, especially among SGM communities that are not benefitting equitably from existing approaches. Analyzing narrative data from open-ended interviews with 100 young adults in California, USA, who currently or formerly smoked tobacco and identify in ways that classify them as SGM, we interpret participants’ perceptions of tobacco control efforts in relation to characteristics of trustworthy institutions. Our findings suggest that trust in tobacco control institutions may be compromised by some of the tactics used to denormalize NT use, abstinence-only approaches to NT-related messaging and policymaking, and distrust of the broader establishment of which tobacco control is perceived to be a part. Highlighting trust-compromising consequences of some current mainstream approaches to tobacco control, these findings are important to consider in the development of community-informed messaging strategies and policy interventions to address tobacco-related inequities among SGM populations.
Downloads
References
Annechino, R., & Antin, T. (2019). Truth telling about tobacco and nicotine. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16040530
Antin, T., Lipperman-Kreda, S., & Hunt, G. (2015a). tobacco denormalization as a public health strategy: implications for sexual and gender minorities. American Journal of Public Health, 105(12), 2426–2429. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302806
Antin, T., Constantine, N., & Hunt, G. (2015b). Conflicting discourses in qualitative research: the search for divergent data within cases. Field Methods, 27(3), 211–222. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X14549926
Antin, T., Sanders, E., & Hunt, G. (2018). the here and now of youth: the meaning of nicotine and tobacco for sexual and gender minority youth. Harm Reduction Journal, 15(30). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-018-0236-8
Antin, T., Hunt, G., & Annechino, R. (2021). Tobacco harm reduction as a path to restore trust in tobacco control. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(11), Article 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18115560
Antin, T., Sanders, E., Lipperman-Kreda, S., Annechino, R., & Peterkin, E. (2023). “I can’t make perfect choices all the time”: perspectives on tobacco harm reduction among young adults who identify as sexual and gender minorities. Nicotine & Tobacco Research: Official Journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 25(6), 1090–1098. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntac291
Avery, E. (2010). The role of source and the factors audiences rely on in evaluating credibility of health information. Public Relations Review, 1(36), 81–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2009.10.015
Baskerville, N., Dash, D., Shuh, A., Wong, K., Abramowicz, A., Yessis, J., & Kennedy, R. (2017). Tobacco use cessation interventions for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth and young adults: A scoping review. Preventive Medicine Reports, 6, 53–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2017.02.004
Bell, K., & Dennis, S. (2013). Towards a critical anthropology of smoking: exploring the consequences of tobacco control. Contemporary Drug Problems, 40(1), 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/009145091304000102
Bell, K., McCullough, L., Salmon, A., & Bell, J. (2010). “Every space is claimed”: Smokers’ experiences of tobacco denormalisation. Sociology of Health & Illness, 32(6), 914–929. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9566.2010.01251.x
Bell, K., Salmon, A., Bowers, M., Bell, J., & McCullough, L. (2010). Smoking, stigma and tobacco ‘denormalization’: Further reflections on the use of stigma as a public health tool. A commentary on Social Science & Medicine’s Stigma, Prejudice, Discrimination and Health Special Issue (67: 3). Social Science & Medicine, 70(6), 795–799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.09.060
Benkert, R., Cuevas, A., Thompson, H., Dove-Medows, E., & Knuckles, D. (2019). Ubiquitous yet unclear: a systematic review of medical mistrust. Behavioral Medicine, 45(2), 86–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/08964289.2019.1588220
Bernard, H., & Ryan, G. (2009). Analyzing Qualitative Data: Systematic Approaches. Sage
Blendon, R., & Benson, J. (2022). Trust in medicine, the health system & public health. Daedalus, 151(4), 67–82. https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_01944
Boynton, M., Agans, R., Bowling, J., Brewer, N., Sutfin, E., Goldstein, A. O., Noar, S., & Ribisl, K. (2016). Understanding how perceptions of tobacco constituents and the FDA relate to effective and credible tobacco risk messaging: A national phone survey of U.S. adults, 2014–2015. BMC Public Health, 16(1), 516. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3151-5
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic Analysis. In F. Maggino (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research (pp. 1–7). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_3470-2
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2023). Is thematic analysis used well in health psychology? A critical review of published research, with recommendations for quality practice and reporting. Health Psychology Review, 0(0), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2022.2161594
Brock, G., Henry, L., Kintopf, A. & Betsy., B. (2018). Glitter, smoke, and mirrors: tobacco marketing in lgbtq spaces. In W. Swan (Ed) The Routledge Handbook of LGBTQIA Administration and Policy. Routledge.
Buchting, F. O., Emory, K. T., Scout, Kim, Y., Fagan, P., Vera, L. E., & Emery, S. (2017). Transgender use of cigarettes, cigars, and e-cigarettes in a national study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 53(1), e1–e7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2016.11.022
Budenz, A., Gaber, J., Crankshaw, E., Malterud, A., Peterson, E., Wagner, D., & Sanders, E. C. (2022). Discrimination, identity connectedness and tobacco use in a sample of sexual and gender minority young adults. Tobacco Control, tobaccocontrol-2022-057451. https://doi.org/10.1136/tc-2022-057451
Cahill, S. R. (2021). Still in the Dark Regarding the Public Health Impact of COVID-19 on Sexual and Gender Minorities. American Journal of Public Health 111, 1606–1609. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306397
Case, K., Lazard, A., Mackert, M., & Perry, C. (2018). Source credibility and e-cigarette attitudes: implications for tobacco communication. Health Communication, 33(9), 1059–1067. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2017.1331190
Dermody, S. S., Heffner, J. L., Hinds, J. T., McQuoid, J., Quisenberry, A. J., Tan, A. S. L., & Vogel, E. A. (2020). We are in this together: promoting health equity, diversity, and inclusion in tobacco research for sexual and gender minority populations. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 22(12), 2276–2279. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntaa070
Drescher, C., Lopez, E., Griffin, J., Toomey, T., Eldridge, E., & Stepleman, L. (2018). Mental health correlates of cigarette use in LGBT individuals in the southeastern United States. Substance Use & Misuse, 53 (6), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2017.1418087
Drope, J., Liber, A., Cahn, Z., Stoklosa, M., Kennedy, R., Douglas, C., Henson, R., & Drope, J. (2018). Who’s still smoking? Disparities in adult cigarette smoking prevalence in the United States. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 68(2), 106–115. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21444
Emory, K., Buchting, F. O., Trinidad, D. R., Vera, L., & Emery, S. L. (2019). Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) view it differently than non-LGBT: Exposure to tobacco-related couponing, e-cigarette advertisements, and anti-tobacco messages on social and traditional media. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 21(4), 513–522. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/nty049
Evans-Polce, R., Castaldelli-Maia, J., Schomerus, G., & Evans-Lacko, S. (2015). The downside of tobacco control? Smoking and self-stigma: A systematic review. Social Science & Medicine, 145, 26–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.09.026
Fleming, R. (Director). (1939). The Wizard of Oz. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
Frohlich, K., Mykhalovskiy, E., Poland, B., Haines-Saah, R., & Johnson, J. (2012). Creating the socially marginalised youth smoker: The role of tobacco control. Sociology of Health & Illness, 34(7), 978–993. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9566.2011.01449.x
Gerend, M., Newcomb, M., & Mustanski, B. (2017). Prevalence and correlates of smoking and e-cigarette use among young men who have sex with men and transgender women. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 179, 395–399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.07.022
Gille, F., Smith, S., & Mays, N. (2015). Why public trust in health care systems matters and deserves greater research attention. Journal of Health Services Research & Policy, 20(1), 62–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/1355819614543161
Graham, H. (2012). Smoking, Stigma and Social Class. Journal of Social Policy, 41(01), 83–99. https://doi.org/10.1017/S004727941100033X
Hinds, J., Chow, S., Loukas, A., & Perry, C. (2021). Reactions to targeted tobacco control messaging: Transgender and gender diverse young adult perspectives. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 218, 108440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108440
Hinds, J., Chow, S., Loukas, A., & Perry, C. (2022). Exploring Transgender and Gender Diverse Young Adult Tobacco Use. Journal of Homosexuality, 69(13), 2188–2208. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2021.1935621
Jaiswal, J., & Halkitis, P. N. (2019). towards a more inclusive and dynamic understanding of medical mistrust informed by science. Behavioral Medicine, 45(2), 79–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/08964289.2019.1619511
Jarman, K., Ranney, L., Baker, H., Vallejos, Q. & Goldstein, A. O. (2017). Perceptions of the Food and Drug Administration as a tobacco regulator. Tobacco Regulatory Science, 3(2), 239–247. https://doi.org/10.18001/TRS.3.2.12
Kalulu, P., Fisher, A., Whitter, G., Doering, M., Carter, D., Gabel, M., Ding, J., Esposito, M., McMurtry, C., & Huffman, M. (2023). Trust, trust repair, and public health: a scoping review protocol. Data and Supporting Files. https://doi.org/
https://doi.org/10.48765/py5c-qc40
Kim, S.-E. (2005). The role of trust in the modern administrative state: an integrative model. Administration & Society, 37(5), 611–635. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095399705278596
Kozlowski, L., & Sweanor, D. (2016). Withholding differential risk information on legal consumer nicotine/tobacco products: The public health ethics of health information quarantines. International Journal of Drug Policy, 32, 17–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2016.03.014
Kramer, R., & Tyler, T. (Eds.). (1995). Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research (1st edition). Sage Publications, Inc.
LeCompte, M., & Schensul, J. (1999). Analyzing and Interpreting Ethnographic Data. AltaMira Press.
Lewicki, R., McAllister, D., & Bies, R. (1998). Trust and distrust: new relationships and realities. The Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 438–458. https://doi.org/10.2307/259288
Li, J., Berg, C. J., Weber, A. A., Vu, M., Nguyen, J., Haardörfer, R., Windle, M., Goodman, M., & Escoffery, C. (2021). Tobacco use at the intersection of sex and sexual identity in the U.S., 2007-2020: A Meta-Analysis. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 60(3), 415–424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2020.09.006
Link, B., & Phelan, J. (2001). Conceptualizing stigma. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, 363–385. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.363
Lipperman-Kreda, S., Sanders, E., Annechino, R., Peterkin, E., & Antin, T.M.J. (2024). Harm perceptions of vaping nicotine relative to cigarette smoking among sexual and gender minority young adults. Drug and Alcohol Review. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13812
McCabe, S., Hughes, T., Matthews, A., Lee, J. G. L., West, B., Boyd, C., & Arslanian-Engoren, C. (2017). Sexual orientation discrimination and tobacco use disparities in the United States. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 21(4), 523–531. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntx283
McCullough, A., Meernik, C., Baker, H., Jarman, K., Walsh, B., & Goldstein, A. O. (2018). Perceptions of tobacco control media campaigns among smokers with lower socioeconomic status. Health Promotion Practice, 19(4), 550–559. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839917741485
McQuoid, J., Durazo, A., Mooney, E., Heffner, J. L., Tan, A. S. L., Kong, A. Y., Clifton, S., & Horn, E. (2023). Tobacco cessation and prevention interventions for sexual and/or gender minority-identified people and the theories that underpin them: a scoping review. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 25(6), 1065–1073. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntad018
Peruga, A., López, M. J., Martinez, C., & Fernández, E. (2021). Tobacco control policies in the 21st century: Achievements and open challenges. Molecular Oncology, 15(3), 744–752. https://doi.org/10.1002/1878-0261.12918
Pornpitakpan, C. (2004). The persuasiveness of source credibility: a critical review of five decades’ evidence. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34(2), 243–281. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2004.tb02547.x
PytlikZillig, L., & Kimbrough, C. (2016). Consensus on conceptualizations and definitions of trust: Are we there yet? In Interdisciplinary perspectives on trust: Towards theoretical and methodological integration (pp. 17–47). Springer International Publishing.
Rădoi, M., & Lupu, A. (2017). Understanding institutional trust. what does it mean to trust the health system? In A. Maturo, Š. Hošková-Mayerová, D.-T. Soitu & J. Kacprzyk (Eds.), Recent Trends in Social Systems: Quantitative Theories and Quantitative Models (pp. 11–22). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40585-8_2
Ranney, L., Jarman, K., Baker, H., Vu, M., Noar, S., & Goldstein, A. O. (2018). Factors influencing trust in agencies that disseminate tobacco prevention information. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 39(2), 99–116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-018-0501-3
Reuter, P. (2013). Can tobacco control endgame analysis learn anything from the US experience with illegal drugs? Tobacco Control, 22(suppl 1), i49–i51. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2012-050809
Ritchie, D., Amos, A., & Martin, C. (2010). “But it just has that sort of feel about it, a leper”—Stigma, smoke-free legislation and public health. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 12(6), 622–629. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntq058
Roeseler, A., & Burns, D. (2010). The quarter that changed the world. Tobacco Control, 19(Suppl 1), i3–i15. https://doi.org/10.1136/tc.2009.030809
Sachs, N. (2023, June 12). Tobacco giants are fighting to keep graphic warning labels off their products. Slate. https://slate.com/technology/2023/06/cigarette-warning-labels-fda-fifth-circuit.html
Sanders, E., Antin, T., & Hunt, G. (2020a). Deviant and dangerous: Queer adults, smoker-related stigma and tobacco de-normalisation. In S. MacGregor & B. Thom (Eds.), Risk and Substance Use (pp. 183-200). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351033503
Sanders, E., Antin, T., Hunt, G., & Young, M. (2020b). is smoking queer? implications of California tobacco denormalization strategies for queer current and former smokers. Deviant Behavior, 41(4), 497–511. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2019.1572095
Schmidt, A., Ranney, L., Pepper, J., & Goldstein, A. O. (2016). Source credibility in tobacco control messaging. Tobacco Regulatory Science, 2(1), 31–37. https://doi.org/10.18001/TRS.2.1.3
Tinkler, P. (2006). Smoke Signals: Women, Smoking and Visual Culture. Berg Publishers.
Veldheer, S., Wright, R. R., & Foulds, J. (2019). What low-income smokers have learned from public health pedagogy: a narrative inquiry. American Journal of Health Behavior, 43(4), 691–704. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.43.4.4
Vogel, E. A., Humfleet, G. L., Meacham, M., Prochaska, J. J., & Ramo, D. E. (2019). Sexual and gender minority young adults’ smoking characteristics: assessing differences by sexual orientation and gender identity. Addictive Behaviors, 95, 98–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.03.005
Voigt, K. (2013). “If you smoke, you stink.” denormalisation strategies for the improvement of health-related behaviours: the case of tobacco. In D. Strech, I. Hirschberg & G. Marckmann (Eds.), Ethics in Public Health and Health Policy: Concepts, Methods, Case Studies (pp. 47–61). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6374-6_4
Wheldon, C., & Wiseman, K. (2019). Tobacco use among transgender and gender non-conforming adults in the United States. Tobacco Use Insights, 12, 1179173X19849419. https://doi.org/10.1177/1179173X19849419
Youatt, E., Johns, M., Pingel, E., Soler, J., & Bauermeister, J. (2015). Exploring young adult sexual minority women’s perspectives on LGBTQ smoking. Journal of LGBT Youth, 12(3), 323–342. https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2015.1022242
Additional Files
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Emile Sanders, Rachelle Annechino, Sharon Lipperman-Kreda, Elaina Peterkin, Tamar Antin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
All articles in the Journal of Critical Public Health are published under a CC-BY-NC-ND license, or a CC-BY license if authors or their funders require this. The default CC-BY-NC-ND license means that authors and users may copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in un-adapted form only, for non-commercial purposes only, and only so long as proper credit is given (as is customary in academic work). Authors retain copyright of their work published in Journal of Critical Public Health.
