J u n e 2 0 1 7 V o l u m e 1 I s s u e 6

I n s i d e T h i s I s s u e :

Redwillow/Cornus

sericea

1

Secondhand Smoke

and Casino Dealers

2

Articles of interest 3

Preparing Cansasa 3

Great Plains Smoking

Statistics

4

Wiconi Wakan- Sacred Life

Promoting Smoke-Free Lifestyles in Indian Country

Redwillow/Red Osier Dogwood

Cornus sericea

Cornus sericea (stolonfera) is the scientific name for Cansasa or

commonly known as redwillow or Red Osier Dogwood. redwillow

is a flowering shrub/tree that belongs to the Cornaceae family. It is

commonly found in the Northern and Western parts of the United

States and in the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and

Nebraska of the Great Plains Region. It commonly grows in areas

with moist soil and in wetland/bottom areas or along streams and

bodies of water. It is easily identified by its bright reddish/brownish

stems and branches (varies by location). Its leaves are opposite and

ovate to oblong shape (see diagram below); they are dark green

above and blueish-greenish on the bottom side. In the fall season

the color of leaves are commonly bright red to purple. The flowers

bloom in June to August and are small (5–10 mm diameter), a dull

white color and grow in clusters at the top of the stem. The fruit is

a round/sphere shaped white berry and is generally see in July-

September.

Many of the tribes of the Great Plains use redwillow/Cansasa to

make a tobacco mixture that is smoked (not inhaled) during prayers

and ceremonies. Today it is commonly replaced with the harmful

commercially produced tobacco’s.

In the Lakota traditions, redwillow/Cansasa is only gathered in the

winter months before the first thunder (spring), during this time is

also when the plant is dormant. Dormancy is a stage that many trees and shrubs go through which is

comparable to a hibernation stage but for plants. This stage minimizes the metabolic activity and therefore

helps the plant to conserve energy and grow again next season.

When Cansasa is collected in the winter months during dormancy it is best for the plant if you use pruning

sheers or a sharp knife to cut off the stem you want to collect. If the plants is pulled or broken off it can

damage or possibly kill the plant. It is also better to make the cut at a fork in the stem and not the entire

stem, doing this allows the rest of the plant to continue to grow and possibly grow additional stems and to

assure the production of new plants. Before collecting, it is also Lakota ways to leave an offering of

tobacco and prayer.

How to prepare Cansasa on page 3

Leaf shapes and how they grow on a stem:

P a g e 2 V o l u m e 1 I s s u e 6

Secondhand Smoke and Casino Dealers

Posted on June 16, 2009 by Christine West, RN, MSH, MPH

Simply working in a casino does not mean dealers must gamble with

their health. There is nothing lucky about developing a respiratory

illness, lung cancer, or heart disease—especially if you are a healthy

nonsmoker. Results of new research conducted by the National

Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) on secondhand

smoke—the exposure of non-smokers to tobacco smoke—confirm

that dealers at the casinos investigated were exposed to secondhand

smoke. Secondhand smoke, also called environmental tobacco

smoke, is a combination of smoke given off by the burning end of a

tobacco product and the smoke exhaled by the smoker. Secondhand

smoke is made up of approximately 4,000 chemicals, of which about

40 are known to cause cancers.

Longstanding NIOSH policy, consistent with and based on the U.S.

Surgeon General’s position on secondhand smoke, recommends that

workers should not be involuntarily exposed to tobacco smoke. Any

exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of lung cancer,

other respiratory diseases, and heart disease. Studies have shown that

even low levels of secondhand smoke exposure can be harmful. The

only way to fully protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke

exposure is to completely eliminate smoking in indoor spaces.

The NIOSH investigation was conducted in response to requests for

an evaluation of secondhand smoke from dealers at Bally’s, Paris,

and Caesars Palace casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada. NIOSH

investigators conducted onsite health hazard evaluations to measure

casino dealers’ exposure to secondhand smoke and to determine

whether they reported related health symptoms. Employees were

selected to participate in the study if they reported that they did not

use any tobacco products, did not live with someone who smokes

inside their home, or were not exposed to secondhand smoke in any

setting other than their job at the casino. For comparison, a group of

administrative and engineering staff who were not exposed to

secondhand smoke at their casino job were included in the study.

NIOSH collected urine samples before and after the workers’ shifts to

determine the levels of two secondhand smoke components, cotinine

and NNAL (a cigarette carcinogen) in their urine. Casino dealers

were found to have increasing levels of NNAL in their urine over an

8-hour work shift showing that the cigarette smoke and a carcinogen

are being taken up into their bodies. NIOSH also conducted air

sampling which found that components of secondhand smoke were

present in the air of the three casinos. Casino dealers had more

respiratory symptoms than the administrative and engineering

employees, but differences were not statistically significant.

NIOSH recommended that:

The casinos should institute casino-wide no smoking policies to

eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke and develop smoking

cessation programs for casino employees who smoke.

A physician should evaluate employees with respiratory

symptoms related to workplace exposures.

The casinos should form a health and safety committee that

includes employee and management representatives to address

workplace health and safety concerns.

The casinos should also eliminate smoking near building

entrances and air intakes to prevent tobacco smoke from entering

the work environment. Any modifications of the ventilation

systems should be done in adherence with current guidelines.

In addition to scientifically confirming secondhand smoke exposure

among the casino dealers, the results of this research also provide

additional support for the use of NNAL as a marker of secondhand

smoke exposure and will aid other researchers in future studies.

NIOSH would like to hear from you. If your workplace has gone

smoke-free, please tell us about the transition. Were there specific

steps taken that seemed to make the transition to a smoke-free

environment easier?

The complete reports of the casino health hazard evaluations can

be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2005-0201

-3080.pdf . More information on the Health Hazard Evaluation

(HHE) Program is available on the HHE topic page. Information

on the health effects of second hand smoke can be obtained from

the CDC Office on Smoking and Health and the U.S. Surgeon

General’s Report on the Health Consequences of Involuntary

Exposure to Tobacco Smoke.

P a g e 3 V o l u m e 1 I s s u e 6

Preparing Cansasa

Articles of interest:

Mahabee-Gittens EM, Merianos AL, Matt GE, Preliminary evidence that high levels of nicotine on children’s hands may contribute to

overall tobacco smoke exposure, Tobacco Control Published Online Fir st: 30 March 2017. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2016-

053602.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. QuickStats: Number of Deaths from 10 Leading Causes—National Vital Statistics

System, United States, 2010. Morbidity and Mor tality Weekly Repor t 2013:62(08);155. [accessed 2017 Apr 20].

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: What It Means to You. Atlanta: U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease

Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2010 [accessed 2017 Apr 20].

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the

Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Depar tment of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014 [accessed 2017 Apr 20].

Step 1: In a good mindset, use a sharp pocket knife to carefully scrape off the

outer red layer of the red willow tree branch exposing the light green cambium

layer underneath.

Step 2: Next carefully but quickly scrap off the light green cambium layer

exposing only the white-ish wood layer. Doing this quickly before the cambium

dries out makes the scraping process easier. Be careful not to scrape any of the

wood into this cambium layer.

Step 3: After scraping the cambium off all of the redwillow, sit it on newspaper in

a dark room such as a basement. It should dry out in 24 hours depending on the

climate in which you live in. After drying it is ready for use!

Thank you to GPTCHB’s Eugene Giago for sharing these traditions.

P a g e 4 V o l u m e 1 I s s u e 6

Great Plains Smoking Statistics

1770 Rand Road | Rapid City, SD 57702 | (p) 605.721.1922 | (F) 605.721.1932 | www.gptchb.org

Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board

This publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number, U58DP005442-01, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the

authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.

Iowa Nebraska

South Dakota North Dakota

No Statistics on Native American smokers.

Ranked 17th in the U.S. for Smoking-

Attributed Adult (35+ years) Mortality.

Ranked 33rd for Past-Month Cigarette Use

Among Youth 12-17 years.

Ranked 46th of Smokers Calling Quitline.

39.1 % of smokers are Native American.

Ranked 7th in the U.S. for Smoking-

Attributed Adult (35+ years) Mortality.

Ranked 27th for Past-Month Cigarette

Use Among Youth 12-17 years.

Ranked 49th of Smokers Calling

Quitline.

48.2 % of smokers are Native American.

Ranked 4th in the U.S. for Smoking-

Attributed Adult (35+ years) Mortality.

Ranked 43th for Past-Month Cigarette

Use Among Youth 12-17 years.

Ranked 16th of Smokers Calling Quit-

line.

46.4 % of smokers are Native American.

Ranked 10th in the U.S. for Smoking-

Attributed Adult (35+ years) Mortality.

Ranked 44th for Past-Month Cigarette

Use Among Youth 12-17 years.

Ranked 2nd of Smokers Calling Quitline.

1-800-QUIT-NOW QuitNow.ne.gov 1-800-QUIT-NOW https://iowa.quitlogix.org/

1-866-SD-QUITS

https://www.sdquitline.com/

1-800-QUIT-NOW

https://ndquits.health.nd.gov/get-started/enroll-online/