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Smoking rates are going down, but about 40 million adults in the U.S. still light up. The chances for Native Americans picking up the habit are higher than the rest of the population. On the day designated by the American Cancer Society as the Great American Smokeout, well discuss tips and tricks for quitting. We’ll also explore the difference between commercial and sacred tobacco. Are you ready to quit smoking?
Guests:
Velliyah Beauvais (Navajo) – director Tobacco Cessation Clinic at the Phoenix Indian Medical Center
Dana Diehl (Yupik/ Athabascan) – program manager for the Tobacco Prevention Program at Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
Lawrence Shorty (Navajo) – tobacco & food historian
Break Music: Heeia (song) Henry Kapono (artist) The Wild Hawaiian (album)
I’m writing from Kotzebue, Alaska. I was going through a very hard time in my life at the end of 2011. I decided to quit smoking at that time, as a type of “cleansing and renewing.”
I began by quitting refined sugar and any processed food.
I ate only raw fruit and vegetables and Native food. Then, after about a month, I began using the Patch.i used it for about a month, and then, I was done. I haven’t smoked since January 4, 2012, I saved thousands of dollars, and I actually lost 30 pounds.
As much as people would like to believe that smoking helps with stress, it actually promotes stress.