Facts and Figures

Although traditional uses of tobacco are a sacred and essential part of many First Nation peoples’ life, non-traditional misuse has become a deadly epidemic. Tobacco is no longer sacred when it is misused and used for non-ceremonial or in non-traditional ways. Non-traditional use misuse and abuse of tobacco has become a major problem for First Nations and Inuit communities. This misuse comes in the form of smoking and the use of smokeless tobacco.

Inuit peoples have a different history with tobacco culturally and traditionally. Tobacco is not a sacred plant to most Inuit, although some Inuit use it in ceremonies. It is too cold to grow tobacco in Inuit territories. Tobacco was introduced to the Inuit through trade, especially in the more southern areas of their territories.

Tobacco trade increased with the arrival of European traders and now Inuit communities have some of the highest smoking rates in the world.

Tobacco smoke known as Environment Tobacco Smoke (ETS) exposes people to over 4,000 chemicals; some are toxic, and at least 50 are known to cause cancer. Some of these chemicals include formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, tar, and arsenic. The amount of chemicals in each cigarette is small, however, it intensifies with each cigarette and even puff of the cigarette.

Smoking contributes to many health problems such as heart problems, cancer of the mouth, throat, tongue, voice box, bladder, cervix; emphysema, chronic bronchitis, tooth loss, and gum disease. Smoking also plays a role in the severity of diabetes complications such as amputation, vision loss, and stroke.

Second-hand tobacco smoke can hurt non-smokers as much or more than smokers. This is because there is more than three times the amount of tar, and over six times the amount of nicotine in second-hand smoke than inhaled smoke. Second-hand smoke can therefore affect the future generations as well. If parents or others smoke around a child there is a higher incidence of middle ear problems, coughing, wheezing, and asthma attacks in the children. Smoking also contributes to infant mortality as well as damage to the unborn child.

Smoking is not the only form of tobacco misuse and addiction. Some people do not smoke tobacco but use chewing tobacco or “snuff”. Chewing tobacco is just as unhealthy and addictive as smoking tobacco and contains hundreds of poisons. It is associated with significant health risks such as mouth cancer, throat cancer, heart disease and stroke, gum disease, stomach ulcers, and problems with the urinary tract and bladder.

Tobacco smoke kills 47,000 people in Canada each year. That is four times higher than death caused from AIDS, traffic accidents, suicide, fires, and accidental poisoning combined. It is quickly becoming the number one killer in First Nation and Inuit communities and is beginning to surpass deaths caused by diabetes.

Tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable death in First Nations communities. Although smoking has been decreasing, mortality and morbidity related to tobacco use remains very high. The number of First Nations and Inuit men, women, youth, and children smokers is exceptionally high when compared to the rest of the Canadian population. Notably, the rate of First Nations youth whom smoke is higher than that of their contemporaries in non-First Nations society. Some estimates indicate one-half of all children in Canada try smoking by the time they are twelve years old. Reportedly, it is estimated, First Nations children try smoking as early as eight years old.

The prevalence of smoking in Aboriginal Canadians, although gradually decreasing, remains high. Recent statistics (4) indicate that the rate of smoking among First Nations people in Canada (59%) is still approximately three times the rate for the general Canadian population. Among 15- to 17-year-old adolescents, the rate of smoking among boys (47%) and girls (61%) is still three times the national rate. In a 2005 study of a First Nations community in Manitoba (5), 82% of adolescents aged 15 to 19 years were current smokers. Similarly, 70% of Inuit aged 18 to 45 years are current smokers.

L’usage et le mésusage du tabac chez les autochtones – mise à jour 2006 Comité de santé des Premières nations et des Inuits, Société canadienne de pédiatrie (SCP) http://www.cps.ca/francais/enonces/II/FNIH06-01.htm

Young females in Canada as a whole smoke more than their male counterparts. This is also true in Aboriginal communities. Many studies have found that Aboriginal mothers were twice as likely as non-Aboriginal mothers to smoke during pregnancies. Approximately 53% of Aboriginal mothers smoke while pregnant as opposed to 26% of non-Aboriginal mothers.

Statistics on young Aboriginal mothers and smoking are alarming and are of much concern. More and more research indicates that smoking during pregnancy contributes to a variety of medical and social concerns such as but not limited to the following: