Smoking and experiences with tobacco cessation among men who have sex with men: New Orleans, 2011.

Smoking continues to be a problem in the United States, particularly among men who have sex with men (MSM). The current study assesses the prevalence of current and lifetime smoking as well as cessation experiences in a sample of MSM. Two-thirds of the sample had ever smoked tobacco and 50 % of MSM were current smokers. Prevalence of current smoking in this sample was higher than comparative data obtained from HIV positive patients at a local clinical population. Smoking was found to be associated with HIV status, race, age, education, income and alcohol use. A high proportion of MSMs social networks were smokers especially among current smokers. Continued efforts targeting or linking MSM into tobacco cessation efforts are recommended.