3. Traditional Tobacco
Stories
Many indigenous nations have
traditional stories of how tobacco
was introduced to their communities.
Many stories emphasized the
sacredness of the plant and its
powers to both heal if used properly
and to harm us if used improperly!
Some say that the original tobacco
was discovered about 18,000 years
ago.
4. Traditional Tobacco
Uses
Tobacco was used by our Medicine
People for both healing and blessings.
Used as a smudge… to ward off pests
when the people went out to hunt and
gather (the original version of “OFF”)
because it contains nicotine, a natural
pesticide.
Given as a gift when welcoming guests to
the community & as an offering to those
requested to pray or share their wisdom. 4
5. TRADITIONAL COMMERCIAL
Smoked in a pipe for
ceremonial purposes
Used as an offering to a
healer, elder or other
person as a sign of
respect or thanks
Medicinal tobacco was
often used as a
painkiller
Deliberate targeting of
specific consumer
groups
Premeditated and
conscious addition of
chemicals that lead to
addiction
Scarcely contains actual
tobacco
5
7. Nicotine
Poisonous
More addictive than cocaine and heroine
So powerful that farmers can’t use it to kill
insects
Legal addiction
Use results in emotional dependence
Mood leveler
Users rely on it to control emotional
responses to everyday life 7
8. Carbon Monoxide
The compound in car exhaust that
causes death
Causes shortness of breath
Reduces the amount of oxygen
blood can carry
8
9. Tar
Sticky Residue that stains the
fingers and teeth.
Contains benzopyrene, one of
the deadliest cancer causing
agents known.
9
10. Chemicals
Acetone: fingernail polish remover
Ammonia: floor/toilet cleaner
Cadmium: batteries
Arsenic: rat poison
Methane: cow manure fumes
Formaldehyde: preserver of dead bodies
10
12. Nicotine
Hard Habit to Quit
On a milligram for milligram basis, is 10 times
more potent than heroin as an addictive substance
Smoking is an over-learned behavior
Pack/day smoker estimates
6 doses (puffs)/cigarette
20 cigarettes per day
= 43,800 doses per year!
Few behaviors occur more often. . .
Breathing
Blinking 12
16. Tobacco
Facts & Stats
40% of all AN/AN deaths can be attributed
to commercial tobacco use
50% of AI/AN teens reported some type of
cigarette use (highest rate in the nation, out
of all ethnic populations and age groups)
21% of AI/AN teens reported using
smokeless tobacco
Teens are 3 times more likely to smoke if
parent or sibling smokes
16
19. When You Quit…
Within 10 Years:
Lung cancer death rate is similar to
that of a person who does not smoke.
The pre-cancerous cells are replaced.
Within 15 Years:
Risk of coronary heart disease is the
same as a person who has never
smoked.
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