Aboriginal Smoking Rates Addressed At Symposium

Aboriginal Smoking Rates Addressed At Symposium

Monday, October 25, 2010 at 23:25

 

 

A researcher says there is a strange contradiction in the statistics among Aboriginal people who smoke.

 

Dr. Chad Nilson says Saskatchewan has the highest rate of smoking in the country, but it also has the lowest consumption rate of tobacco – especially among youth and Aboriginal people.

 

Nilson says one reason for that contradiction may be that instead of buying cigarettes, youth and Aboriginal people tend to borrow them.

 

He says research shows the priority targets in an anti-smoking campaign should include Aboriginal people.

 

That’s because 58.8% of that population smokes.

 

But he says an anti-smoking campaign among that population has to be done with sensitivity to the fact that tobacco is sacred.

 

He says the most effective strategy is for First Nations governments to work

with the province to persuade people not to smoke.

 

However, an elder says Aboriginal people who smoke cigarettes and think they’re following tradition and culture are wrong.

 

George Laliberte says tobacco should spread among the ground to honour the Creator or Mother Earth.

 

Laliberte says it can also be smoked for medicinal purposes, but he says inhaling cigarette smoke into your lungs recreationally is not a sacred use of tobacco.

 

Lalib