Why Quit?
You're Not Alone
Our Mission
1 in 5
American Indian adults smoke cigarettes.
13,000
smoking causes 13,000 deaths every day.
1.7 Billion
pounds of cigarette butts end up as toxic trash each year, making them the most littered item on earth.
1.5 Million
packs of cigarettes are illegally purchased for minors annually.
14 Years
on average, smokers die 14 years earlier than non-smokers.
1/3
of adult smokers who started smoking before high school graduation will die prematurely of a smoking related disease.
1 in 4
American Indians smoke cigarettes.
56%
of American Indians report that they want to quit smoking.
40%
of American Indian high schoolers use e-cigarettes.
16,000
youth try their first cigarette every day.
90%
of smokers begin before the age of 19.
1/13
teens will die early from smoking.
55.6%
of American Indians report that they want to quit smoking. This is lower than all other ethnic groups.
22%
of American Indians smoke cigarettes, this is the highest smoking rate of any racial or ethnic group.
1 in 4
American Indians adults smoke cigarettes. At 26%, that’s 1.5 times greater than the U.S. smoking rate.
40.4%
of American Indian high schoolers are e-cigarette users, more than any other racial or ethnic group, compared to 27% overall.
16.2%
of American Indian high schoolers smoke cigarettes, more than any other racial or ethnic group, compared to 5.8% overall.
68%
of e-cigarette users in high school use flavors. The chemicals in vaping flavors cause widespread damage to lung tissue.
Vaping & E-Cigarettes
Did You Know?
- e-cigarrettes are the most popular tobacco product among youth. Studies have found that 40 percent of American Indian high schoolers use e-cigarettes.
- e-cigarettes contain nicotine as well as toxic chemicals that can cause permanent damage to your lungs and brain.
- The CDC found that 38 percent of high school students and 13 percent of middle school children have tried vaping.
- Even though the e-cigarette industry is less regulated than cigarettes, it is still illegal for minors under age 18 to buy vaping pens.
- If you’ve talked yourself into the idea that you are “just” using e-cigarettes, you are on a path to becoming addicted to nicotine.
- Every e-cigarette – no matter the shape and size – is terrible for you. There is no way around it. You are doing real harm to your body every time you use one. If you haven’t tried one, don’t. And if you do use them, it’s time to stop.
- Vaping permanently affects the the parts of the brain responsible for focus and learning, decision making and impulse control.
Text VAPEFREEWA to 88709 for more information on how to quit vaping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Kick Ash Colville Tribes is a free service to help you quit smoking, especially designed for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.
Cigarette smoking can cause premature wrinkles, stained teeth, tooth loss, and ashtray breath. But the effects aren’t only skin-deep. Smoking cigarettes changes your blood chemistry. This can leave you vulnerable to blood clots that can cause heart attacks and block blood flow to your heart, brain, or legs. Smoking cigarettes can also cause cancer almost anywhere in your body.
The service is free of charge.
This is a free program for all Tribal community members. All program materials, including coaching calls and medications, are free.
Secondhand smoke is smoke from burning commercial tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars or pipes. It is also smoke that has been breathed out by a person smoking. There is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke; even being around secondhand smoke for a short amount of time is harmful tp health. Opening a window or airing out a room will not protect an individual from secondhand smoke. However, quitting smoking can protect the people in your life from secondhand smoke.
Yes!
We help people successfully quit using all forms of commercial tobacco, including vaping (e-cigarettes) and smokeless products, such as chewing tobacco.
