Friday, July 10, 2009

No Smoking For Military...

From USA Today:

Ban on tobacco urged in military
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Pentagon health experts are urging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ban the use of tobacco by troops and end its sale on military property, a change that could dramatically alter a culture intertwined with smoking.

Jack Smith, head of the Pentagon's office of clinical and program policy, says he will recommend that Gates adopt proposals by a federal study that cites rising tobacco use and higher costs for the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs as reasons for the ban.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2009-07-09-smoking_N.htm?csp=DailyBriefing

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Wrap...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

as a military member, this is just crazy. i don't smoke myself. but with all the restrictions members of the military have already, why add another. we are dying for peoples freedom to choose. why should we be unable to choose when we are doing the work.

Watch 'n Wait said...

Absolutely agree Anonymous. If one smokes, it's a great stress reliever. To deprive military of that is unconsciounable in my opinion. Just crazy. Yes.

Watch 'n Wait said...

Vince, former Green Beret, emailed this comment:

""We were all sucking wind, smokers, and non-smokers alike" Soldiers give up so much already, and you want to take away more? Soldiers often have a lot less freedom than the people they are fighting for. Besides relieving stress, they are a great time killer in the majority of the time that you are bored out of your mind. And smoking didn't affect me that I ever noticed back then. I could still run 7 miles every morning, and 5 every night, right along with the non-smokers. And nobody ever tries to cut out, outlaw, or add OUTRAGEOUS taxes to alcohol, and it seems to me that it kills a hell of a lot more people each year...