The last drag: an evaluation of an LGBT-specific smoking intervention

Many studies in the past 20 years have documented that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals smoke at rates that exceed the general population, yet, there have been few reports of smoking cessation interventions targeting this population. This study reports on data from 233 participants in The Last Drag, a seven-session, six-week group education and support intervention tailored for LGBT smokers. Data on smoking rates were collected during the first and last sessions, and at one, three, and six months post-intervention. As with many interventions over time, missing data is a challenge in determining success rates, but even using the most conservative estimates, nearly 60% were smoke-free at the end of the intervention, and 36% remained smoke-free by six months post-intervention. This success rate is comparable to, or better, than many mainstream smoking cessation interventions reported in the literature. The Last Drag is an effective, low-cost, LGBT-specific community intervention that can be replicated in other communities.