thedrifter
07-15-09, 08:12 AM
Report: Military installations could be smoke-free in 20 years
Comments 0 | Recommend 0
July 14, 2009 - 6:14 PM
AMANDA HICKEY
The Department of Defense should eliminate tobacco use on military installations, according to a recent study by the Institute of Medicine.
Combat, however, is a “different situation.”
The report titled “Combating Tobacco Use in Military and Veteran Populations,” states that the DoD, Department of Veterans Affairs and Congress should implement a comprehensive strategy to achieve the DoD goal of a tobacco-free military.
While working on the report, committee members weighed the consequences of tobacco on military preparedness, the exposure of second-hand smoke and cost, said Stuart Bondurant, who served as report’s committee chair.
“Our ultimate judgment as expressed in the report was that all three of those compromise the effectiveness of the military service enough that an orderly, long range plan should be adopted to achieve a tobacco-free military service, active duty service and veteran population,” Bondurant said Tuesday.
According to the report, the DoD and VA have “demonstrated a continuing commitment to the health of military personnel and their families and of veterans,” but “much remains to be done.”
“Given the effects of tobacco use on military readiness and on the health of military personnel, retirees, families and veterans, the time has come for DoD and VA to assign high priority to tobacco control,” the report reads.
Released June 26, the report advises DoD and VA to provide counseling and nicotine-replacement therapy and create toll-free “quit lines” for counseling on quitting.
The report also recommends the military set a date to go tobacco-free with each military branch developing — and enforcing — a timeline to make that happen. A ban on smoking at military academies is also suggested as well as extending the current ban on tobacco use during basic training to include technical training.
All military institutions and active-duty personnel would be required to be tobacco-free in 20 years or sooner if the initial phase for military academies and new recruits is in place within a year, according to the report.
“What we’ve learned through other agencies and organizations that have stopped smoking among their employees is that if you do it in a systematic planned way and take your time, you can do it without disrupting the operations of the organization. You minimize the number of people who are made uncomfortable,” said Bondurant.
The study included the state governments of California, Maryland and Massachusetts and other agencies such as hospitals and airlines, he said.
When it comes to deployments and combat, however, Bondurant said circumstances are extraordinary for the military and need to be handled as such.
“It’s a very different situation, there’s no doubt about that,” Bondurant said. “We feel very strongly that deployment overseas and combat is a different situation and has to be handled differently.”
Messages to the Department of Defense from The Daily News regarding the report were not returned by press time.
The Institute was asked to identify policies and practices that could lower rates of smoking and help active-duty military and veterans quit tobacco by the DoD and VA in 2007.
According to the report, tobacco use reduces troops’ physical fitness and endurance and is linked to higher rates of absenteeism and lost productivity.
In 2005, 32 percent of active-duty personnel and 22 percent of veterans were smokers, according to the report. However, rates among active-duty personnel have increased recently.
Contact Amanda Hickey at 910-219-8461 or ahickey@freedomenc.com. Read the Lejeune Deployed blog at http://lejeunedeployed.freedomblogging.com.
Ellie
Comments 0 | Recommend 0
July 14, 2009 - 6:14 PM
AMANDA HICKEY
The Department of Defense should eliminate tobacco use on military installations, according to a recent study by the Institute of Medicine.
Combat, however, is a “different situation.”
The report titled “Combating Tobacco Use in Military and Veteran Populations,” states that the DoD, Department of Veterans Affairs and Congress should implement a comprehensive strategy to achieve the DoD goal of a tobacco-free military.
While working on the report, committee members weighed the consequences of tobacco on military preparedness, the exposure of second-hand smoke and cost, said Stuart Bondurant, who served as report’s committee chair.
“Our ultimate judgment as expressed in the report was that all three of those compromise the effectiveness of the military service enough that an orderly, long range plan should be adopted to achieve a tobacco-free military service, active duty service and veteran population,” Bondurant said Tuesday.
According to the report, the DoD and VA have “demonstrated a continuing commitment to the health of military personnel and their families and of veterans,” but “much remains to be done.”
“Given the effects of tobacco use on military readiness and on the health of military personnel, retirees, families and veterans, the time has come for DoD and VA to assign high priority to tobacco control,” the report reads.
Released June 26, the report advises DoD and VA to provide counseling and nicotine-replacement therapy and create toll-free “quit lines” for counseling on quitting.
The report also recommends the military set a date to go tobacco-free with each military branch developing — and enforcing — a timeline to make that happen. A ban on smoking at military academies is also suggested as well as extending the current ban on tobacco use during basic training to include technical training.
All military institutions and active-duty personnel would be required to be tobacco-free in 20 years or sooner if the initial phase for military academies and new recruits is in place within a year, according to the report.
“What we’ve learned through other agencies and organizations that have stopped smoking among their employees is that if you do it in a systematic planned way and take your time, you can do it without disrupting the operations of the organization. You minimize the number of people who are made uncomfortable,” said Bondurant.
The study included the state governments of California, Maryland and Massachusetts and other agencies such as hospitals and airlines, he said.
When it comes to deployments and combat, however, Bondurant said circumstances are extraordinary for the military and need to be handled as such.
“It’s a very different situation, there’s no doubt about that,” Bondurant said. “We feel very strongly that deployment overseas and combat is a different situation and has to be handled differently.”
Messages to the Department of Defense from The Daily News regarding the report were not returned by press time.
The Institute was asked to identify policies and practices that could lower rates of smoking and help active-duty military and veterans quit tobacco by the DoD and VA in 2007.
According to the report, tobacco use reduces troops’ physical fitness and endurance and is linked to higher rates of absenteeism and lost productivity.
In 2005, 32 percent of active-duty personnel and 22 percent of veterans were smokers, according to the report. However, rates among active-duty personnel have increased recently.
Contact Amanda Hickey at 910-219-8461 or ahickey@freedomenc.com. Read the Lejeune Deployed blog at http://lejeunedeployed.freedomblogging.com.
Ellie