| Those who smoke in our present society have contributed to a self-inflicted negative stigma that is unfortunately and unnecessarily justified. According to the 1999/2000 Directory of Associations of Canada our government spends 1,500,000 to $3,000,000.00 per year on the �Canadian Council on Smoking and Health� and 500, 000 to $1,500,000.00 per year on the �Canadian Council for Tobacco Control�. This does not include provincial anti-smoking lobbies which also receive substantial support. Obviously our perpetually �cash strapped� government is convinced that smoking is a serious issue. Recently, a legislation has been introduced that, once implemented would require all tobacco processors to have photos of cancer ridden lungs on cigarette packs to bring home the detriments of smoking to the consumer. As if the written warnings were not enough, including my favorite, �SMOKING CAN KILL YOU�. My guess is, if these lung images are made law, they will likely be as effective as the written warnings. But we know there is a strong foundation behind such warnings due to costly illnesses and deaths attributable to smokers and their habit. With this in mind, I would like to propose an alternative viewpoint; that tobacco is not necessarily bad for your health; rather the way it is marketed and consumed. To substantiate my claim, I offer a comparative glimpse between our present society�s consumption of tobacco and the first peoples who used the substance, the Native Americans. �Tobacco is wakan, it has medicine power; to the Native Americans, it is one of the most sacred plants...whatever illness a Medicine person is seeking to cure, tobacco will, in some way be a part of that cure! This seems so strange to those of us who are used to tobacco smoking being portrayed as a deadly and stupid habit. But the Native Americans did not abuse tobacco. The tobacco they smoked was pure and was not mixed with chemicals. Smoking was not a casual, unconscious activity in the way it is today. That is not to say that smoking was always ceremonial and never done for enjoyment. But whatever the situation, the herb was honored for its sacred nature. To do otherwise would have been to dishonor this gift of Great Spirit. (pg. 45-46)� This approach is a far cry from the nic-fix-modern-secular-consumption-driven-lifestyle-approach. Smokers can be seen huddled in the doorways of work places and schools, fumigating the interiors of restaurants, bars, clubs and caf�s feeding their strong cravings. The successful marketing of �how-to-stop-smoking� books, craving remedies, �lifesigns� and nicotine patches indicates that getting smokers to quit is indeed a lucrative business. The Native Elders might have commented that this is symptomatic of those who have given in to their �animal-spirit� and thus disrespected the �Great-Spirit�. This is the effect of the Euro-Western mind deritualizing a ritual substance. In addition to moderation, Native Americans lived a more healthful and active lifestyle that implied resistance against tobacco inflicted diseases. �At the time of the discovery of America by Columbus, the aborigines, with whom he came in contact, possessed a belief that tobacco was a gift from the Great Spirit, and that through its agency, this deity and his subordinates, could be appealed to for the blessings desired. It was the principal medium through which the priests and medicine-men received their inspirations. This made tobacco to them a sacred herb and regarded as among their most sacred possessions. (pg. 83)� |
| "Think of this when you smoke Tobacco..." by i. khider |