And yet, the Aboriginal Tobacco Program is sponsored by the Ontario government. Worse, it’s sponsored by Smoke Free Ontario and Cancer Care Ontario, both provincial government agencies working with the ministry of health to prevent cancer.
Since traditional aboriginal tobacco isn’t meant to be smoked in cigarettes I doubt the practice is wide spread enough to be considered a problem on its own. Yet by sponsoring bad science claims like ‘traditional tobacco is a healer’, the government is placing the public at risk. The government has no place protecting specific religious practices, much less dangerous ones and our health officials, if they have any integrity, need to stand up and do their job. Stop sponsoring religious practices, cancel this silly program, and declare all tobacco to be equally dangerous.