A paper published by the Canadian Paediatric Society and the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Health Committee on Tobacco use and misuse among Indigenous children and youth in Canada, clearly states:
First : Sacred tobacco use and the recreational use of commercial tobacco, especially cigarette smoking, have separate purposes and functions.
Second: The medicinal and ceremonial use of tobacco by First Nations peoples predates European contact. Tobacco is offered up and ceremonially burned to establish a direct link with the spiritual world. With the traditional use of tobacco, inhalation is minimal. By contrast, the recreational use of commercial tobacco, which involves inhaling the smoke of commercial products having a high content of nicotine and toxic additives, it is addictive and harmful. First Nations Elders maintain that using tobacco recreationally is disrespectful of tradition. The Assembly of First Nations promotes traditional tobacco, Nicotiana rustica, for ceremonial use, not commercial tobaccos, such as cigarettes.
Third: Tobacco misuse is the leading preventable cause of premature death in the world. Smoking rates among Canadian Indigenous youth are at least three times higher than for their non-Aboriginal peers, an alarming statistic on many levels.
This section presents our communities with information and tools to help make the right choice in habits.