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I'm all for stripping people of their rights.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/militar...-smoking_N.htm
The Air Force has been providing smoking cessation classes for quite awhile, and everywhere I've been it's frowned on, especially since we're trying to become a leaner, fitter fighting force.WASHINGTON — Pentagon health experts are urging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ban the use of tobacco by troops and end its sale on military property, a change that could dramatically alter a culture intertwined with smoking.
Jack Smith, head of the Pentagon's office of clinical and program policy, says he will recommend that Gates adopt proposals by a federal study that cites rising tobacco use and higher costs for the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs as reasons for the ban.
Being a non-smoker, I wouldn't mind this too much. Since our health care is paid for by the taxpayers, it makes sense as well. And once they got out of the military, they could smoke.
I wouldn't be surprised to see this happen, and soon.
I'm all for stripping people of their rights.
Nothing better after a long day of fighting and keeping your ass from getting blown away than a stick of gum.
B2B, have you been in the military? Most of our rights are stripped as is.
Whatever the military decides for itself is fine by me. In my mind that's more an administrative deal, than an welcome/unwelcome imposition of the state upon public behavior. Definitely related, but being as it touches the military, they can regulate it any old way they want IMO.
It rubs me the wrong way, but not enough to complain to anyone about it.
The smokers will take care of themselves regardless.
Just don't make "overseas contingency" quit, is all, I guess. Denying smokes to troops already in the field in the Iraq and Afghanistan seems a bit stingy to me.
Sure, why not? Lets put soldiers in the field devoid of choices on how to relax after, you know, being in combat.
No big deal, right?
Hey, that guy might have to carry me if I get injured. I don't want him having smoker's lungs!
Of course you wouln't mind it. Might I suggest a ban on all fast food and alcoholic beverages as well. Oh, and no steaks. Red meat is unhealthy.
You know what the real irony is? During some consulting work I did at Wright Patterson, I was told by a flight surgeon that the type of person that can handle the most G-forces before getting G-lock is a short, stocky pilot with high cholesterol -- typically a slightly overweight, smoker. People who are super fit have very good circulation and thinner blood. Good for running marathons, bad for handling G-forces.
If you tried to ban alcohol, the military would ins ute a coup.
I wouldn't be surprised if they were to try to take away fast food places from on-base as well though. As I said up-thread, even the Air Force is going to twice-a-year fitness testing involving running, pushups and situps.
Plus, the military is downsizing where it can, mainly by replacing people with machines/technology where possible. Doesn't surprise me that they'd try to eliminate behavior that hurts one's health.
is that in the cons ution
sarcasm is not built properly into Oh Gee's cons ution.
As a non-smoker, it still bothers the out of me. I cannot ing stand tobacco, I ing hate breathing it, I can't stand the smell, it used to make me cough like when I was a kid, but that's asinine to strip someone's right to put what he wants into his own body.
This ban smoking is BEYOND carried away.
They should also ban that whole getting shot at thing.
I hear it can lead to death.
To be fair, we can't even grow our hair out long, or have a beard unless we're on leave. There's a lot of seemingly asinine rules in the military.
Its a good thing you're in the Air Farce, you wouldnt last one minute in the Corps.
you know that going in
you also have a of a retirement plan
Good luck getting that passed 70 to 80 percent of current military are smokers. Many start when they join due to the stresses of their jobs.
Not me I only smoked weed and did acid when I was in the Navy. But I didn't inhale.
so if you do not smoke you have no stress?
The smart ones handle their stress in other ways.
and maybe the ban will help them
if I as a taxpayer have to pay for them to be buried because of cancer and their heath care
they should be banned from smoking
I don't know where you get those statistics, but my 11 years tells me that there are roughly half. Not 3/4. IF stress brought the numbers up to 3/4 since I was in, then you are giving me reason to blame it on the additional military cuts during the Clinton years.
You don't think the same would be true if they tried to ban smoking? Based on my time in, there are more smokers than non-smokers in the military...especially in high-stress jobs like aircraft maintenance.If you tried to ban alcohol, the military would ins ute a coup.
Wouldn't it be ironic if they established this while the sitting president and Commander-in-Chief himself was still a smoker?
Those aren't assanine policies.
I think the bigger point with the physical fitness standards is that they recently put it as a pass/fail category on the yearly performance reports...reports that greatly impact your ability to advance to the next rank and ultimately impact your long-term career goals.
STILL...I don't think stricter physical fitness standards have anything to do with a ban on smoking. As is, the standards promote having a small waist and running fast (80% of the current test)....which says nothing about smoking.
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