Tobacco use and the United States military: a longstanding problem

Ties between the United States military and the tobacco industry trace back to the early parts of the 20th century. During the second world war, for example, cigarette advertisements praising service members were widespread on popular radio programmes and in periodicals.1 Some ads even featured cigarette-using doctors vouching for the great taste and mildness of particular brands. Cigarettes were also included as part of the K-rations and C-rations provided to soldiers and sailors during the second world war, and these cigarettes frequently became more valuable for trading or selling than the food items in the rations. During times of war and peace, many young people (predominantly men, as they have traditionally comprised the bulk of military personnel) started smoking after they joined the military. In fact, it has been widely acknowledged in military circles that many young soldiers and sailors first started smoking during their initial military “boot camp” training. Before 1987, when tobacco use was banned at most training commands across the military services, giving or denying “smoke breaks” was a common form of reward and punishment used by drill instructors and company commanders training new soldiers or sailors.2 If recruits did not already smoke when they entered the military, in boot camp they quickly learned that smoking to get a work break was a desirable thing to do. Even beyond recruit training, the military culture—at least until relatively recently—has traditionally fostered the stereotype of heavy-smoking, hard-drinking, and adventuresome service members. This image has had empirical support from several studies indicating that military rates of tobacco and alcohol use have been higher than those found in comparable civilian sectors.3-7 As of 1995, however, the military/civilian differences in tobacco use have narrowed.8 Considering all the services combined, the differences between the military and standardised civilian samples …