Native smokes canada addictive habit with serious health risks, including lung cancer and heart disease. It also exposes others to secondhand smoke. But Native American smokers face unique challenges in trying to quit because tobacco is deeply embedded in their culture and religious rites. Those difficulties present an opportunity for anti-smoking campaigns to focus on harm reduction strategies such as encouraging the use of smokeless tobacco and other non-cigarette options.

Across the state, tribes are beginning to manufacture their own brands of cigarettes, selling them at local Indian-owned stores. In upstate New York, for example, the Cayuga Nation bought a former scrap metal plant for $135,000 and started producing its own brand of cigarettes last year. Its cigarettes can be purchased at two Cayuga-owned stores and by other tribal retailers.

Finding Native Smokes Nearby: Your Quick Reference

The revival of traditional tobacco has a goal beyond providing income: it’s meant to help reclaim the plant from commercialization and to encourage young people to build a positive relationship with it at an early age. “If you get kids involved with growing and cultivating their own traditional tobacco, and then utilizing it for ceremonial purposes, they’re more likely to want to keep it as an adult,” says one of the founders of the Native Tobacco Project.

It’s important to remember that despite the lower price and perceived quality of native smokes, these products are still cigarettes, and come with all the same health risks. To avoid these risks, it’s recommended to always smoke responsibly and to consult a doctor for assistance.