Then WHY WASTE the SPACE and PRINT as well as the TIME, Globe?
TALK ABOUT AGENDA-PUSHING!!!!!!!
"Military encounters resistance to proposed ban on smoking" by Deb Riechmann, Associated Press | August 30, 2009
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq - .... A proposal to make the forces smoke-free is drawing strong reactions from troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, even though the Pentagon says any ban is a long way off.
The troops’ fears - and, in some cases, hopes - were triggered by a study commissioned by the Pentagon and the Veterans Affairs Department that recommends moving toward a tobacco-free military, perhaps in about 20 years.
“Your nerves get all rattled and you need something to calm you down,’’ said Staff Sergeant Jerry Benson of San Bernadino, Calif., with the Fifth Stryker Brigade in southern Afghanistan.
Benson said his first attempt to quit smoking was foiled by stress from a roadside bombing in Iraq.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates seems to agree.
“He knows that the situation they are confronting is stressful enough as it is,’’ said his press secretary, Geoff Morrell. “I don’t think he is interested in adding to the stress levels by taking away one of the few outlets they may have to relieve stress.’’
That's also how you CREATE a MARKET!!!!!
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US military personnel and veterans interviewed by the Associated Press had strong opinions about life in the military without cigarettes, cigars, and chewing tobacco.
Some said it would cut medical costs and make the force healthier, while eliminating smoking breaks would increase productivity. Others said it would dampen morale and reduce recruitment to the all-volunteer military. Nearly all, however, said it was impractical and probably would never happen....
To the troops who say smoking relaxes them, Ellen Hahn, a tobacco researcher, explains that their stress is also a result of tobacco, because nicotine acts as both a stimulant and a depressant.
The Pentagon laid out a plan in 1999 to reduce smoking rates by 5 percent a year by 2001 - and couldn’t achieve the goal. Meanwhile, military commissaries still sell cigarettes at heavily discounted prices....
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Would you mind if I took a toke, soldier?
