Sex: Healthbolt

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Healthbolt

Posted: 12 Jul 2009 03:41 PM PDT

Looks like smoking soldiers might just be a thing of the past if Pentagon health experts have anything to do with it. They are recommending that Defense Secretary Robert Gates adopt a phased-in smoking ban in the military over a period of years.

This proposal is based on the results of recent federal study done by the Institute of Medicine that shows increased tobacco use among soldiers.

The study found that…

one in three servicemembers use tobacco.
tobacco use in the military has increased since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan started.
troops dealing with repeated deployments are often relying on cigarettes as a form of 'stress release'.
the heaviest smokers are the soldiers and Marines who have done most of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
about 37% of soldiers use tobacco and 36% of Marines.
combat veterans are 50% more likely to use tobacco than troops who haven’t seen combat.
tobacco use costs the Pentagon $846 million a year in medical care and lost productivity.
the Department of Veterans Affairs spends up to $6 billion in treatments for tobacco-related illnesses.

Given that military personnel are provided with reduced cost tobacco products at base exchanges and commissaries it's not all that surprising that tobacco usage is higher amongst military than civilians. Plus the military installations gain from these tobacco sales, with 70 percent of profits from tobacco sales — $88 million in 2005 — paying for recreation and family support programs.

Recommendations from the report include

requiring new officers and enlisted personnel to be tobacco-free.
eliminating tobacco use on military installations, ships and aircraft.
expanding treatment programs and eliminating the sale of tobacco on military property.
tobacco use while in uniform to be prohibited

According to Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith, the department supports a smoke-free military and does believe it is achievable.

But for those of us who grew up on images, both on the big screen and in the news, of "the battle-weary soldier in fatigues and helmet, fighting for his country, has frequently included his lit cigarette”, it's hard to imagine it will happen.

A good first step, however, might be having the Commander-in-Chief, who claims to be '95% cured' become 100 percent smoke free.

(image source)

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