Military Smoking Ban—Sir No Sir!

A recent report issued by the Institute of Medicine has sparked much debate by calling for a smoking ban in the United States military. The study, which was commissioned by the Pentagon, cites high “health and economic costs” as reason to implement a ban that would eventually phase-out tobacco use in the military. 

By now, it’s no secret that smoking can be a deadly habit, but despite its dangers, smoking is not illegal for those of age. Many people use smoking as an outlet for stress relief. So it’s no wonder why tobacco use continues to rise among those in one of the most emotionally and physically demanding professions—the U.S. military.

Reportedly, one in three military members use tobacco, compared to one in five average adult Americans. This statistic, combined with the millions of dollars in health care costs related to military tobacco use, has many people concerned about whether or not a ban is appropriate.

I feel like the idea of implementing a military smoking ban in the near future is ridiculous. Our soldiers have made a tremendous sacrifice by putting their lives on the line to fight for our own freedom, and I feel forcing them to give up their tobacco usage is unnecessary.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a smoker and I am all for stricter regulationof the tobacco industry. I also hope the popularity of smoking will become a thing of the past within my lifetime. However, I just don’t feel it’s right to ban tobacco usage and sales for our military if we aren’t going to do it for our general population. I acknowledge the fact that members of the military willingly give up a number of personal freedoms in order to serve, but tobacco use is one of the few outlets soldiers can turn to for even the slightest bit of relief. Tobacco use doesn’t impair a soldier’s ability to serve in the same way alcohol does, so why ban it?

I agree with Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith when she said a tobacco-free military "will depend on coincident reductions of tobacco use in the civilian population.” If we focus on reducing tobacco use in the general population, then the number of those who enter the military as non-smokers will increase, and hopefully they’ll have the willpower to stay that way.

But smoking soldiers won’t have to worry about giving up their habit just yet. The Pentagon responded in a press conference by saying there are no plans to eliminate tobacco, but added that the goal is to have a smoke-free force “some day.”

Should we allow members of our military to light up because of the great sacrifice they have made? Or, should we ban tobacco use in order to reduce costs and create a stronger, healthier military?