Study recommends total ban on smoking for soldiers

Gestart door Lex, 12/07/2009 | 19:09 uur

Lex

Pentagon Says No to Ban on War Zone Smoking Despite Study

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell says troops already are under enough stress and making enough sacrifices from fighting the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

The Pentagon says it won't ban smoking by troops in war zones, despite a recent study recommending a tobacco-free military.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell says troops already are under enough stress and making enough sacrifices in fighting the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And he says Defense Secretary Robert Gates doesn't want to do add to that stress by taking away one of the few outlets they have to relieve it.
But Morrell says Gates will look at the study to see what other things can be done to move toward a goal of a tobacco-free force.
An advocacy group, however, is strongly condemning the push by Pentagon health experts to ban the use of tobacco by troops and end sales of tobacco products on military property. Brian Wise, executive director of Military Families United, decried even the discussion of such a ban.
"With all the issues facing our military today and the risks our troops take to protect our freedom, banning smoking should not even be on the radar screen," Wise said in a written statement Wednesday.
"Nobody doubts the effects of smoking, but it is not an illegal substance and should not be banned," he said. "Our troops make enough sacrifices to serve our nation. They give up many of the freedoms civilians enjoy already without being told they cannot partake in yet another otherwise legal activity. Perhaps more than anything, smoking in the field is more about comfort and coping with an often hostile environment."
Jack Smith, head of the Pentagon's office of clinical and program policy, told USA Today last week that he will advise Gates to adopt proposals by a federal study that cites rising tobacco use and higher costs for the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs as reasons for the ban.
The study by the Institute of Medicine calls for a phased-in ban over a period of up to 20 years.
"We'll certainly be taking that recommendation forward," Smith told the newspaper.
The VA and the Pentagon requested the study, which found that troops worn out by repeated deployments often rely on cigarettes as a "stress reliever." The study also found that tobacco use in the military increased after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began.
Tobacco use costs the Pentagon $846 million a year in medical care and lost productivity, according to the study, which was released last month and used older data. The Department of Veterans Affairs spends up to $6 billion in treatments for tobacco-related illnesses, the study found.
The study recommends requiring new officers and enlisted personnel to be tobacco-free, eliminating tobacco use on military installations, ships and aircraft, expanding treatment programs and eliminating the sale of tobacco on military property.
"Any tobacco use while in uniform should be prohibited," the study said.

AP, Wednesday, July 15, 2009


pewe64

Roken heeft als positief effekt dat het de aanmaak van serotonine bevorderd. Dit hormoon wordt NIET aangemaakt bij een depressie en PTSS. 
Laat een militair die net stress heeft gehad even een peuk pakken als hij er de behoefte aan heeft en dit zijn functioneren niet negatief beinvloed.

Ros

Het OM krijgt het straks druk.....................Sld I Jansen is tijdens uitzending aangehouden wegens bezit en vermoedelijk gebruik van 50 gram zware Van Nelle van het verboden kartel De Weduwe. Hem hangt een gevangenisstraf boven het hoofd van 2 jaar en 3 maanden.

"Gelukkig"  komt dit bericht uit de VS. Honderden militaire slachtoffers per jaar als gevolg van loodvergiftiging en nu gaan lopen piepen over tabak.

Enforcer

Citaat van: Poleme op 12/07/2009 | 21:51 uur
Doordraven?   Geen sprake van, Israelisch onderzoek heeft  aangetoond, dat rokende militairen meer kans hebben op Post Traumatisch Stress Syndroom in vergelijking met niet-rokers.  Een onderzoek in de VS of het VK heeft aangetoond, dat rokers minder snel herstellen van verwondingen in vergelijking met niet-rokers.

Vorige maand, kwam ik iemand tegen, met een stok zoethout in zijn mond.  Hij zij dat hij een ex-roker was en om zijn dagelijkse stress te onderdrukken, kauwde hij nu als alternatief op een stuk zoethout.

Punt 1: roken en meer kans op PTSS lijken mij gerelateerd. Als men een sigaret nodig heeft om rustig te worden, zou dat kunnen betekenen dat de stressverwerking in de hersenen niet optimaal gaat.

Punt 2: door de schadelijke stoffen in de sigaretten en na het roken in de bloedbaan, is het logisch dat daardoor het herstel vertraagd wordt.

Wat punt 2 betreft valt er inderdaad wat voor te zeggen. Wat punt 1 betreft zou er beter wat dieper op de oorzakenin gegaan kunnen worden, als dat al niet gedaan is.

Poleme

Doordraven?   Geen sprake van, Israelisch onderzoek heeft  aangetoond, dat rokende militairen meer kans hebben op Post Traumatisch Stress Syndroom in vergelijking met niet-rokers.  Een onderzoek in de VS of het VK heeft aangetoond, dat rokers minder snel herstellen van verwondingen in vergelijking met niet-rokers.

Vorige maand, kwam ik iemand tegen, met een stok zoethout in zijn mond.  Hij zij dat hij een ex-roker was en om zijn dagelijkse stress te onderdrukken, kauwde hij nu als alternatief op een stuk zoethout.
Nulla tenaci invia est via - Voor de doorzetter is geen weg onbegaanbaar.

Lex

Ik ben benieuwd hoe lang het gaat duren voordat STASDEF dit bericht te hand neemt.  ;D

Enforcer

Ze zijn in Marlboro County een beetje aan het doordraven?

pewe64

Ik heb eens gehoord dat de kogels die rondvliegen tijdens een vuurgevecht ook schadelijk kunnen zijn voor je gezondheid. :D

Lex

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- You've seen the iconic picture of a soldier with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, but that could soon be a thing of the past.
A new study commissioned by the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs recommends a complete ban on tobacco, which would end tobacco sales on military bases and prohibit smoking by anyone in uniform, not even combat troops in the thick of battle.
According to the study, tobacco use impairs military readiness in the short term. Over the long term, it can cause serious health problems, including lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. The study also says smokeless tobacco use can lead to oral and pancreatic cancer.
The Defense Department's top health officials are studying the report's suggestions and will make recommendations to the Pentagon's policy team and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The study recommends phasing out tobacco products such as cigarettes and cigars over a five- to 10-year period.
However, the suggested ban does not sit well with many in uniform, including retired Gen. Russel Honore, best known for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina-affected areas with an ever-present stogie. He said soldiers at war need to puff.
"When you're tired and you've been going days on end with minimum sleep, and you are not getting the proper meals on time, that hit of tobacco can make a difference," said Honore, who was in charge of the Army's training programs before he retired.
Other soldiers questioned whether this was a good time to stamp out smoking, given the Army's concern with a high suicide rate.
"For some, unfortunately, they feel that smoking is their stress relief. Well if you take it away, what is the replacement?" said Sgt. 1st Class Gary Johnson.
The Pentagon supports the goal of a tobacco-free military, said spokeswoman Cynthia Smith.
"However, achieving that goal will depend on coincident reductions of tobacco use in the civilian population," she said.
Dr. Ken Kizer, the author of the study, found that civilians don't smoke as much as soldiers. One in three active duty soldiers smoke, he said, adding that among the general population, that number is less than one in five.
The Pentagon banned smoking in buildings on bases years ago. It has counselors on call to help service members quit. But while local governments have heavily taxed tobacco, the commissaries often sell it at deeply discounted prices.
"The military sends very mixed signals," Kizer said. "This is what's confusing to people."
The study found that profits from those tobacco sales -- $80 million to $90 million -- often pay for recreation and family programs on base.

CNN, July 12, 2009