Compared to the U.S. population as a whole, urban Indians have a 178 percent higher death rate from alcohol abuse and a 54 percent higher death rate from diabetes, according to a 2004 study by the Seattle Indian Health Board's Urban Indian Health Institute.

Utah's Indian Walk-in Center's influence reaches beyond those living along the Wasatch Front.

Felecita FoolBear of Fort Duchesne traveled to Salt Lake for a two-day tobacco cessation training that she said isn't available on the reservation. The training will help her explain to youth on the reservation the "big picture" of the impact of tobacco.

"It's really mind boggling, all the chemicals," she said. "It's not enough to tell young people it's bad for you, but they need to know what's in it."

FoolBear said the training will also help her explain the difference between traditional ceremonial use of tobacco, and smoking cigarettes on a regular basis.

"Every tribe varies on how they use it," she said. "For Utes, it is for ceremonial purposes. It's not to be abused."

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Contributing: Associated Press

E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com