Article Text
Abstract
Objectives: To describe the tobacco industry’s relationships with and influence on homeless and mentally ill smokers and organisations providing services to them.
Methods: Analysis of internal tobacco industry documents and journal articles.
Results: The tobacco industry has marketed cigarettes to the homeless and seriously mentally ill, part of its “downscale” market, and has developed relationships with homeless shelters and advocacy groups, gaining positive media coverage and political support.
Discussion: Tobacco control advocates and public health organisations should consider how to target programmes to homeless and seriously mentally ill individuals. Education of service providers about tobacco industry efforts to cultivate this market may help in reducing smoking in these populations.
- LCHV, Louisiana Coalition for Homeless Veterans
- NCHV, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans
- OSHA, Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- PM, Philip Morris
- RJR, RJ Reynolds
- VFW, Veterans of Foreign Wars
- homelessness
- mental illness
- tobacco control
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Footnotes
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Funding: American Legacy Foundation (Apollonio), National Cancer Institute CA90789 and CA109153 (Malone)
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Competing interests: none declared