Are American Troops To Quit Smoking?
July 13, 2009 by admin
Filed under Quit Smoking News
Photo: David Furst © Scanpix
It weakens the “military clout and thus preparedness”, says the Pentagon. So the Pentagon is now considering banning smoking on U.S. deployed soldiers.
This means, that soldiers in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere around the world can not lit a cigarette, when they are on patrol or in combat. Even if they go outside.
Urge for nicotine
The Pentagon and the American Board of veterans who are behind the idea. Together, they have done a study showing the impact smoking has on soldiers’ skills. This will not only put an end to sales of the usually cheap tobacco on military bases, but also prohibit all military staff to smoke, so that not even combat soldiers can have a smoke to relax in a break between the fighting.
The plan is to introduce a ban over the next 10 years, but U.S. soldiers are not exactly positive.
- When you’re tired and have run on for several days with minimal sleep, and you do not get regular meals on time, so can a wheezing tobacco make all the difference, says retired General Russell Honore to CNN.
Several smokers among soldiers
Others fear that a ban on smoking will have on already high suicide rate among soldiers to rise further.
One out of three American soldiers in active service smoker, while smokers represent only a fifth of the entire population.
