Abstract
Smoking rates among military personnel are high, damaging health, decreasing short- and long-term troop readiness, and costing the Department of Defense (DOD). The military is an important market for the tobacco industry, which long targeted the military with cigarette promotions. Internal tobacco industry documents were examined to explore tobacco sponsorship of events targeted to military personnel. Evidence was found of more than 1,400 events held between 1980 and 1997. In 1986, the DOD issued a directive forbidding such special promotions; however, with the frequently eager cooperation of military personnel, they continued for more than a decade, apparently ceasing only because of the restrictions of the Master Settlement Agreement. The U.S. military collaborated with the tobacco industry for decades, creating a military culture of smoking. Reversing that process will require strong policy establishing tobacco use as unmilitary.
Highlights
The 1.3 million active duty personnel in the U.S military[1] are a desirable market for tobacco companies:[2] people near the typical age of smoking uptake,[3] entering an institution with high smoking prevalence (32.2% in 2005).[1]
Tobacco use has long been associated with military service; until 1975, tobacco was included in basic field rations.[17]
The Department of Defense (DOD) sells tobacco products through commissaries and exchanges, stores located on military bases
Summary
The 1.3 million active duty personnel in the U.S military[1] are a desirable market for tobacco companies:[2] people near the typical age of smoking uptake,[3] entering an institution with high smoking prevalence (32.2% in 2005).[1] Military recruits skew toward some of the tobacco industry’s prime targets: young adults, high school educated, and African-American.[4,5,6,7] Smoking diminishes even short-term troop health and readiness[8,9] and increases medical and training costs.[10,11,12] Goods, such as cigarettes, may be promoted through sponsorship of events. The exchanges, the MWR program bureaucracy, and base commanders may be motivated to continue sales of tobacco products
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