Is It Time for a Tobacco-free Military?

Achieving a tobacco-free military requires rethinking current perceptions of service members' tobacco use and unmasking the forces perpetuating those perceptions. Prohibiting tobacco use would be entirely consistent with other military requirements regarding health. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus recently announced that he wanted to end tobacco sales on all Navy installations. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, citing both financial costs and tobacco's harmful effects on readiness, added that military tobacco policy in general should be reviewed, including the possibility of ending tobacco sales and establishing smoke-free military installations. Currently, a Department of Defense review of the tobacco issue is under way, 5 years after the Institute of Medicine called for a tobacco-free military. 1 Military personnel are required to pass fitness tests, undergo periodic drug tests, and meet weight and body-composition standards or . . .