Gay men and smoking – not giving up
Barrie Dwyer, Project Manager, GMFA, London, UK

Abstract
Proportionally more gay men smoke than straight men and the risk of smoking related illnesses and HIV disease progression are both significantly higher among HIV positive smokers, which is a concern for a far higher proportion of gay male smokers than straight ones.

How do we get the policy makers to write guidance notes for practitioners that include and emphasise the needs of gay men?  And how do we get PCTs in London to recognise the need for partnership working to target gay men in the capital with any particular health service at a time when the government is encouraging local authorities to shoulder the responsibility for and focus on their own communities? 

This presentation will show how GMFA has been able to harness support from some Primary Care Trusts in London and from the gay community to maintain the delivery of its Smoking Cessation courses, but also how difficult it has been to obtain funding and support for this extremely important pan-London work.

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About the presenter
Barrie Dwyer has been a Project Manager at GMFA for twelve years. For the last two years he has managed GMFA’s Stop Smoking Groups for gay men, and is trained to deliver NHS Level 3 stop smoking interventions (smoking cessation for groups).