From; Jackie White Bear Ramirez, Lebanon, OH:
"Indian ecology is based on the belief that everything created by The Great Spirit is equally important and has its rightful place in the scheme of things.  There is an interdependence of all things be they plant, animal or mineral, all must be respected...for they too have a voice in the affairs of the world.
Cigarettes and the pipe must be smoked in the right way.  First you puff to the Great Spirit, second a puff for our Earth Mother and the next puffs to the four Great Powers and to the Four Sacred Directions as you give thanks for all the blessings of life.  After each puff a prayer is said which includes a prayer for each person present as you smoke.  Tobacco used in prayer will not harm you. In fact if one's human overcoat is injured...body and soul can be healed and purified and all attending will receive a blessing.
It is not the tobacco that is harming us but all the crap that is put into it.  Those of you who smoke should look into the organically grown tobacco....Ask for the natural American Spirit, 100% additive free cigarettes.  You can get information on this by calling 1-800-332-5595.  Ask your local tobacco shop to carry this brand.
And one more thing, there is no way I believe everyone who has anything to do with tobacco is going straight to hell....
The power of the pipe and the tobacco used in our ceremonies brings our spirits upwards and brings protection and help from the Great Spirit.
The tobacco we use stands for the vegetable world and the smoke going upwards, combining the elements of air and fire, as the pipe head (Clay) combines those of earth and water and all is the symbol of the relationship between heaven and earth....the path through fire to transformation.

We agree with the beginning part of Jackie's article.  All living things are intertwined.  And her description of the ceremonial uses of tobacco are quite accurate.  But her opinions that tobacco is harmless and even beneficial are erroneous.  The intoxicating effects of tobacco make people feel better, relaxes them, and in some cases makes them more sociable; the chief reason it was originally used.  But the scientific evidence of the destructive effects of the carcinogens in tobacco smoke are well proven, and cinogens in tobacco smoke are well proven, and the addictive nature of nicotine and obvious fault.
With our present knowledge of use of tobacco must be condemned, and the greed of those making a profit from it, exposed.
Traditions are good, but when those traditions do grave harm to those practicing them, there must be those caring individuals that will reach out and help others understand they are harming themselves, and help them find a better way.
The use of tobacco should be replaced with prayer and meditation.  The Sacred Body, The Temple, should not be destroyed for the sake of tradition.