Will the military ban smoking?

@edgarblythe,

I recall that as partial compensation for spending a week on the USS Darby, enroute to Europe. I don't recall many of us having a dollar (1965).

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@Walter Hinteler,

Quote:

Smoking on duty was prohibited in the German Navy even in 1970, only allowed with special order of commanding officer and in only in the decks.
(Smoking as guard resulted usually in arrest. Or in guarding US-facilities like cinemas, masses, church rooms etc over the Christmas period - as [than] seaman Walter can report [1959, Bremerhaven].)

Since 2006, it's generally forbidden besides in breaks in extra smoking 'corners' ... in the complete forces.

Then it isnt enforced very well.
I have served with many German soldiers and sailors, and many of them smoked while on duty and in uniform.

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@roger,

roger wrote:

I recall that as partial compensation for spending a week on the USS Darby, enroute to Europe. I don't recall many of us having a dollar (1965).

I'm sure you got paid at least 100 bucks a month. I got about 73 each two weeks. Surely you could spare a buck for smokes.

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A recruit already can not smoke in basic nor during AIT. HOWEVER, a full ban is never going to happen. Hell, in Iraq a soldier can get any prescription drug he wants if it helps him to function, it is all about the ability to complete the mission. Nobody is going to give a damn about some fancy suit Washington DC boys making a stupid rule against tobacco. They can make any rule they want, but no one will follow it.

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Smoking in the military would not be a concern, if there was no civilian smoking. Sounds strange, but I believe that is the direction we are going with some sort of national health care system. It might take one generation of getting grade school children to see the dangers, but I believe it will happen. Plus, if the government wanted to end the craving, it could issue nicotine patches. No different, in my opinion, than salt tablets before strenuous exercise in basic training during hot weather.

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@Foofie,

it is not in the Army's interest to end the craving, the fact that the Army could help get rid of the craving is irrelevant. The Army has zero care if its soldiers are drugged up on legal substances, so long as they get the job done. If the substances help get the job done the Army will help to make it happen. If you need a prescription stimulant then the doc will fix you up. If you need tobacco to calm down and to relieve stress the 1sg is going to tell the platoon sgt's to let the soldiers light-up, no matter what the DA directives are.

The concept of smoking being illegal in the civilian word is warped, we are not that stupid yet. We still remember Alcohol prohibition, and the war on drugs. Your entire premise is deeply flawed.

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Soon the military will ban all forms of enjoyment. Alcohol, donuts, fatty food, women, sex etc.

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@NickFun,

perhaps the surgeon general should ban the military

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@NickFun,

for a second I saw fatty women, sex...

Embarrassed

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@edgarblythe,

Somewhere around there. I recall the starting pay was around 62.00 per month in '62.

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@solipsister,

That's the best idea yet. Perhaps when they discover that putting on guns and carrying grenades into hostile foreign countries is not conducive to good health...?

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@NickFun,

Quote:

That's the best idea yet. Perhaps when they discover that putting on guns and carrying grenades into hostile foreign countries is not conducive to good health...?

you say that in jest, but that is exactly the first thought of a guy who is risking his life for his nation . If he is willing to put his life on the line, no two bit do-gooder schmuck is going to deny him his smoke as he tries to calm down enough to keep his wits about him (aka stay alive). Basic fairness principles apply.

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@mysteryman,

mysteryman wrote:

Then it isnt enforced very well.
I have served with many German soldiers and sailors, and many of them smoked while on duty and in uniform.

Well, I can only tell you about the situations which I saw personally between 1969 and 1984. (And that was different due to the action of the officer of the watch.)

I'm rather sure that from 2006 onwards this is regarded quite strictly - at least what I've learnt from various reports and legal actions.

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@boomerang,

boomerang wrote:

I think it would be silly to ban law abiding*, sane* adults from buying a legal product.

I agree completely. Drinking causes far more direct military deaths than smoking, but smoking is on everyone's hit list these days. I could see saying you can't smoke in buildings on base or in ships, but smoking is a completely legal passtime in the privacy of your own home.

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@snood,

snood wrote:

Yeah, I think it had become not politically correct somewhere during the "just say no" 80s, Rock.

That was my take in the mid '80. None of the officers smoked anymore. A lot of the enlisted guys were kicking the habit and more one is more in your face to smokers than ex-smokers. I don't think you will need a law. Social pressure is doing the job.

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@Rockhead,

LOL - I was skimming replies here and did the same double-take myself <G> There's actually an entire thread (illustrated) on that very topic:
http://able2know.org/topic/133771-1#post-3701632

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@engineer,

Quote:

That was my take in the mid '80. None of the officers smoked anymore. A lot of the enlisted guys were kicking the habit and more one is more in your face to smokers than ex-smokers. I don't think you will need a law. Social pressure is doing the job.

WTF are you talking about...1/3 of the Army smokes, and the rates are increasing not decreasing.

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@hawkeye10,

hawkeye10 wrote:

it is not in the Army's interest to end the craving, the fact that the Army could help get rid of the craving is irrelevant. The Army has zero care if its soldiers are drugged up on legal substances, so long as they get the job done. If the substances help get the job done the Army will help to make it happen. If you need a prescription stimulant then the doc will fix you up. If you need tobacco to calm down and to relieve stress the 1sg is going to tell the platoon sgt's to let the soldiers light-up, no matter what the DA directives are.

The concept of smoking being illegal in the civilian word is warped, we are not that stupid yet. We still remember Alcohol prohibition, and the war on drugs. Your entire premise is deeply flawed.

Not flawed if there is a way to test for tobacco usage, and then deny medical benefits. People like having viable health insurance. Just one possible way to enforce a civilian ban on smoking.

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@Foofie,

Obesity is a far more important predictor of actuarial present value of future medical costs than smoking - by an entire order of magnitude, base 10. Just try to tell the fatties they got to lose weight or lose their medical insurance coverage and see what happens next.

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Quote:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The defense secretary will not ban smoking by troops in war zones despite a recommendation to do so by a Pentagon-commissioned study.Secretary Robert Gates' decision stems from concern about the stress troops face, said his spokesman.

"We are fighting two wars right now, using a force that we are demanding more of than we ever have before. They are under enormous stress and strain, and the secretary does not want to compound that stress by taking away from them one of the few outlets they have to relieve that stress," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Wednesday.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/15/us.military.smoking/index.html

1 Reply

Will the military ban smoking?

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