Native Cigarettes and Their Effect on Smoking Rates
About Native Cigarettes
Native cigarettes are a popular alternative to traditional tobacco products. They are sold by many online retailers and can be purchased in bulk to save money. These cigarettes are also tax-exempt, which makes them a more affordable option for smokers. Source:https://nativecigarettes.com/
However, while cigarette smuggling is a concern for law enforcement agencies, the biggest issue is not whether cigarettes are cheap or easy to find, but the effect that access to cheaper and easier-to-obtain tobacco has on smoking rates. Kristine Rhodes, a sociologist at the University of Minnesota, says that if more people can easily obtain inexpensive cigarettes, they will be more likely to smoke them and to continue smoking even if they try to quit.
Exploring the Roots: The History of Native Cigarettes
On the Oneidas’ reservation near Cornwall, New York, a tobacco factory churns out millions of cigarettes each week. It’s a lifeblood for the Mohawk community, providing jobs and profits that outside governments call contraband but local business leaders say are essential to self-reliance.
The profits are a rare bright spot for reserve communities long accustomed to poverty and distrust of non-native businesspeople. Many of those who work at the factory are former welfare recipients who now enjoy the stability and prosperity that a paycheck brings. They have moved from the poverty line into nice houses and cars.
Yet, in a nation still grappling with alcoholism, drug addiction, and the high incidence of suicide among young people, some residents resent the factories’ influence and wonder what it will mean for their future. And a lack of research about tobacco and indigenous adolescents may be contributing to the problem.