Non-ceremonial Tobacco Usage Has Ill Effects on American Indians

Native News Network Staff in Native Health. Discussion »

WASHINGTON - Today is the world-wide No Tobacco Day. Today is a good day to look at what non-ceremonial smoking is doing to American Indians.

No Tobacco Day

In 2009 the National Health Interview Survey indicated that American Indian and Alaska Natives had the highest smoking prevalence among all racial/ethnic subgroups at 29.7 percent. The subgroup with next highest smoking rate is Caucasian men at 24.5 percent.

Studies indicate there is a direct correlation between women who smoke during pregnancy and having overweight children by the time children reach age three.

Despite being smaller at birth, the children of smoking mothers had a significantly greater increase in weight-for-length score between birth and age 3 than did children of nonsmokers.

This greater increase was due to a significantly greater increase in weight in children of smokers than in those of nonsmokers and not to a relatively slower increase in height.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among American Indians an Alaska Natives, and tobacco use is an important risk factor for this disease, according to Indian Health Services.

On a national level, every year in the United States, more than 440,000 Americans die preventable deaths from tobacco-related diseases.

Every day, nearly 3,500 kids under the age of 18 try a cigarette for the first time and 850 of them become daily smokers, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

posted May 31, 2011 5:18 pm et