The Idea of an Essay, Volume 4

4 The Idea of an Essay: Volume 4 Nursing and School of Public Health at the University of California at Los Angeles, studied the way American Indians viewed smoking. “The rituals of smoking at ceremonies and tribal functions were important to focus group members [American Indians],” says Dr. Felicia, “One participant stated, ‘Tobacco is used in a ceremonial way at funerals and wakes’”. This quote exemplifies how detrimental practices such as smoking do exist within a culture. Smoking has ever so deeply been rooted in their culture that it has influenced how young American Indians view smoking. Smoking has become one of the ways they identify with other American Indians who also smoke. They are now indifferent to the harmful impact that smoking has on their body (Hodge, 2006). Such smoking practices among American Indian youths have put them into critical health problems. Research on the effects of smoking have proliferated over the past few decades and many observations conclude that regular smoking leads to lung cancer (Lee, Foley, & Coombs, 2012). Dr. Marcus Plescia, director of CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, surveys the prevalence of lung cancer mortality rates among the American Indians in his article Lung Cancer Deaths among American Indians and Alaska Natives 1990-2009. The article reports that American Indians have relatively higher incidence of lung cancer when compared to the incidence among the general population of the United States. The wide use of tobacco has taken its toll on the American Indian population (Plescia, Henley, Pate, Underwood, & Rhodes, 2014). Should such a misfortune ensue? Although it is important to uphold the culture and respect the practice of smoking, it is necessary to weigh the detriments also. If the American Indian population does not find a way to moderate their tobacco usage, the ethnic group will wither away. Nurses should address the hazards of smoking, teaching and encouraging the American Indians to regulate it for the sake of maintaining health and preserving the Native American population. Another example of a cultural practice that takes a toll on one’s health is the drinking culture in South Korea. As a Korean, I have heard countless stories and seen situations where excess alcohol intake has endangered a significant portion of the Korean population—especially in the business world. Business in Korea differs from businesses in other cultures because it is set up in an unspoken yet strict hierarchy. Maintaining a good reputation among