Jump to full article: Fairbanks (AK) Daily News-Miner, 2009-04-19
Author: Mary Beth Smetzer
Intro: FAIRBANKS — In western Alaska, chewing tobacco is called “iqmik,” a Yup’ik word that health providers would like to see become archaic along with smokeless tobacco.
But for now, “iqmik” is being used in anti-tobacco ads throughout the Yup’ik-speaking area as a teaching tool to discourage chewing tobacco usage.
“Our region (Calista) has the highest number of people using smokeless tobacco,” said Moses Tumlin of Bethel, ATCA’s western region representative.
“It’s unacceptable and not an alternative to smoking.”
Tumlin and Kay Ashton, who works for the American Lung Association of Alaska, are the chairpeople of the steering committee of the Alaska Tobacco Control Alliance, which hosted its third annual Tobacco Summit in Fairbanks this past week.
The number of anti-tobacco crusaders attending the two-day conference from around the state has doubled in size since its inception in 2007.
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