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It’s not like the effects of tobacco are a mystery. It’s one of the most studied plants in history, and it’s carcinogenic potential is well known. If you look past the propaganda from three letter agencies and cigarette manufacturers - if you actually read the data - the results are conclusive and consistent: the likelihood of devoloping cancer from tobacco use is directly related to what you’re using, how you’re using it, and how long you’ve been doing it.
People act like everyone thought smoking was fine until the 60’s, when “scientiests discovered that tobacco caused lung cancer.” Doesn’t that strike you as odd? The oldest tobacco pipes we have date back upwards of 7,000 years ago. Surely Native Americans should have been well aware of tobacco causing lung cancer. Lung cancer has been specifically diagnosed by western doctors since the 1700s, when it was thought to be a rare disease, despite widespread smoking across Europe and America.
Native Americans were well aware of the potential dangers of smoking, which is why ceremonial rituals were in place to teach and regulate its usage: tobacco smoke carries your prayers to the spirit world, and provides a link to your ancestors. Share the smoke with your ancestors, don’t be selfish and breathe it in.
