- Very high risk of cancer if you use chew, snuff, or smoke cigarettes.
- Gives you an unpleasant odor and bad breath.
- Chewing leads to gum disease, tooth decay and cancer of the mouth and throat.
- Commercial tobacco contains harmful chemicals such as arsenic (poison), acetone (nail polish remover), methanol (anti-freeze), nicotine (insecticide), ammonia (window cleaner), carbon monoxide (car exhaust), cyanide (rat poison), dimethyl benzyl (toilet bowl cleaner), formaldehyde (preserves dead tissue).
- When used daily it is easy to forget its harmful effects.
- It is highly addictive.
- Cigarettes discolor your teeth, cause lung cancer and heart disease.
- Smoking can permanently damage your eyes, throat, bones, joints and skin-even if you later quit.
- When tobacco is offered to the earth and fire, it is held in the hand and not smoked. Some sacred pipes are smoked but not all pipes contain tobacco.
- Some tribes don’t use tobacco at all and some will use a blend of tobacco and other herbs.
- Traditional tobacco teaches you discipline.
- You learn respect for the creator and all creation.
- You have a better understanding for your Indian culture.
- Traditional tobacco is free of chemicals and poisons.
- You gain spiritual development towards being a good person.
- You use it to pray with and is considered a Medicine for one’s health and well being.
- It is used less than once a month. There is no risk of cancer when used this way.
|Traditional Tobacco Use|
PDF file: Traditional vs. Commercial Tobacco Use