Aboriginal youth's perceptions of traditional and commercial tobacco in Canada

Although tobacco has played an important role in Aboriginal culture for millennia, its more recent recreational use has resulted in serious health concerns among Aboriginal users. In Canada, First Nations youth have higher smoking rates than non-Aboriginal youth. The goals of this study were to examine Aboriginal youth's perceptions of traditional and commercial tobacco and to evaluate perception changes following workshops on traditional uses of tobacco by Elders and other community members, native plants used in ceremony and health impacts of cigarette smoking. The twenty-five Aboriginal youth participants ranged in age from 9 to 14 years old. Results show that workshops did not alter participants' knowledge about tobacco and ceremonies but those studied were more effective at articulating their knowledge through open-ended questionnaires after the workshops. These participants were able to identify more traditional tobacco uses and plants that could be used in ceremonies instead of commercial tobacco. Culturally appropriate education about traditional and commercial tobacco use may be effective in limiting its misuse by Aboriginal youth.