Be Amazing
Be Amazing: Quit Smoking
by Be Amazing - March 12, 2009 - 2:10 PM

Whether you’re looking to start your own religion, swallow a sword, crack an unsolved murder, find Atlantis, buy the Moon, sink a battleship, perform your own surgeries, or become a ninja, our new book Be Amazing covers all the essential life skills! This week, we’ll be excerpting a few lessons from the book.

YOU WILL NEED

• Ancient traditions
• A new menace
• 1 pitcher of mildly hallucinogenic punch

quit-smoking.jpgIt wasn’t until 1986 that the village of Nabila got its first taste of modern health care, but it came along just in time. Within 4 years of opening a new public health clinic, the medical staff realized they had a major crisis on their hands. According to the book Dying to Quit by Janet Brigham, more than 1/3 of all the 238 people on Nabila smoked. In fact, smoking rates had doubled between 1986 and 1990 and hypertension was now running rampant through the islanders. The medical staff pulled out their trusty American Cancer Society posters, but, somehow, the motivational artwork failed to make an appropriate impact. So, what’s a dedicated staff to do? Turn to a higher power, of course—the village elders.

Informed of the health risk, the elders hit on a sensible solution: Everybody in the entire village would have to stop smoking—effective immediately. And while the whole scheme sounds entirely improbable, the Nabila elders had an ace up their grass skirts. South Pacific island culture has a long-standing tradition, known as tabu, by which certain objects, foods, and actions are made spiritually unclean. In the past, tabu was usually applied temporarily to a certain group of people, such as forbidding warriors from touching the ladies until after a battle. But, in Nabila, cigarettes were about to become tabu permanently for everyone in town.

The first step in the ritual involved requiring village puffers to chain-smoke until they got sick. Then came the drinking. But, unlike the average Western pre-cold-turkey binge, this chug-a-lug had some serious symbolic meaning. The beverage of choice was kava, which, unlike anything made in Milwaukee, is actually a mild hallucinogen. And, in South Pacific tradition, this brew also has magical properties. For instance, if you swear an oath on a swig of kava, you’re bound to your promise—on pain of unpleasant circumstances. Nabila’s backsliders found this out first-hand. In the four reported cases of relapse, one man tripped and cut himself, another was attacked by a dog, a third ended up with a swollen testicle, and the fourth briefly passed out after mixing tobacco and kava—all of which were attributed to supernatural punishment. Nabila’s stop-smoking campaign quickly became a media phenomenon in Fiji, prompting a number of people who didn’t even live in the village to join them in tabu. In a nearby village, three-fourths of the young people quit smoking in solidarity. Nine months later, Nabila was still smoke-free. And a full two years after that, the only smokers in town were a couple of elderly people who were given a special dispensation and one visiting teenager. In 2006, Nabila received a World No Tobacco Day Award from the World Health Organization, in honor of its continued success.

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Comments (14)

  1. I gave up smoking for Lent. So far so good, suprisingly. I live with 3 other smokers so it’s a lot harder…….

    posted by Billy on 3-12-2009 at 2:18 pm

  2. Kava is not hallucinogenic! Common misconception. Kava is a mild tranquilizer that it useful for treating anxiety, which s why it helped these people quit smoking. Learn your herbalism (or at least learn to use wikipedia)

    posted by Kathe on 3-12-2009 at 3:24 pm

  3. I read this article to my older brother over the phone a few minutes ago (because he is a heavy smoker) and he said ‘All I heard was something about smoking and swollen testicles… Sounds like I need to go on the patch…’ I didn’t want to repeat myself even though he wasn’t listening all the way, but I still achieved the desired result.

    posted by Kate on 3-12-2009 at 3:24 pm

  4. I would have given up smoking, but with the new S-Chip, I’m smoking for the kids.

    posted by DaH on 3-12-2009 at 3:24 pm

  5. I would have given up smoking, but with the new S-Chip, I’m smoking for the kids.

    can’t tell if first post went through

    posted by DaH on 3-12-2009 at 3:28 pm

  6. How serendipitous, I just quit smoking today. Can’t decide if this article is making me crave a smoke or …nope, I just flat out crave a smoke. Wish me luck!

    posted by jplanet on 3-12-2009 at 3:41 pm

  7. I promised my mom that I would cut way back and quit by midsummer. I use to smoke around a 1/2 pack a day. Yesterday I only had 3 all day, today I have had only 1 and won’t even have a chance for another till after supper so its going ok. Not sure how the weekend will go, St. Patty’s plus my bday party….Wish me luck :-)

    posted by Des on 3-12-2009 at 4:19 pm

  8. My dad finally gave up smoking after 40+ years! It’s a shame this is after being diagnosed with stage 3 bladder cancer and 2 types of pnemonia. I congratulate all of you who kick the habit early on!

    posted by Christi on 3-12-2009 at 9:02 pm

  9. “…the only smokers in town were a couple of elderly people who were given a special dispensation and one visiting teenager.”

    Why did they give the elderly people a visiting teenager? How long do they get to keep him/her for?

    posted by name required on 3-13-2009 at 1:07 am

  10. I’ve tried the Pohnpeian version of this drink called “Sakau.” It was very interesting to watch them make it. Also, it looked like and tasted like dirt and milk. The buzz hit soon after I stood up and walked around. The locals say its best with a cold Budweiser, I prefer it with good ol’ water. I think after a few cups of that…. I wouldn’t want to smoke either.

    posted by Miss Nae on 3-13-2009 at 1:24 am

  11. @jplanet: good luck! I quit today too. And this article was the very first thing i saw when opened mentalfloss this morning. Its a sign! We’ll be fine. :)

    posted by Jennifer on 3-13-2009 at 9:49 am

  12. It will be 10 years Mothers Day weekend! I have to give credit to my Physician for nagging me & showing me different treatments to quit.

    posted by kat621 on 3-13-2009 at 12:05 pm

  13. Great story, thanks for sharing. To those who are quitting or have already quit. Congratulations on being amazing.

    posted by SunshineGirl on 3-13-2009 at 2:13 pm

  14. There are various ways to quit smoking like medical treatment, social aids, etc. Recently we have online stop smoking programs. The benefits of quitting smoking and increasing your lifespan as a result would strengthen your will to make healthy choices for your near and dear ones.

    posted by natashaclarck on 4-27-2009 at 5:58 am

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