USN to stop PX tobacco?

[tod evans]

This reeks on so many levels..........




Navy reportedly mulling ban on tobacco sales on bases, ships

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/25/navy-reportedly-mulling-ban-on-tobacco-sales-on-bases-ships/?intcmp=latestnews

The U.S. Navy is considering a ban on tobacco sales on all its bases and ships, the Military Times reported Monday, citing sources inside and outside the Pentagon.

Navy officials are reportedly considering removing tobacco from all retail outlets, including exchange-operated sales venues and Morale, Welfare and Recreation program outlets, the report said. Navy commissaries do not sell tobacco products.

Navy spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Sarah Flaherty told the Military Times that there have been discussions about tobacco sales, but that no decision has been made.

In a statement Monday, Cmdr. Tamara Lawrence, a spokeswoman for Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, said Mabus "has asked his staff to look at additional ways to improve the health and readiness of our force. We are in the early stages of that process."

Lawrence said Mabus “has implemented a number of initiatives to improve the culture of fitness in the Navy and Marine Corps, and curbing tobacco use is part of that improvement."

The Navy has taken steps in recent years to discourage tobacco sales, such as eliminating sales in its commissaries and removing discounts on tobacco prices in Navy and Marine Corps exchanges in 2012, according to the Military Times.

Navy officials have studying the effects a possible ban on tobacco sales would have on profits for the Navy Exchange Service Command, which supports quality-of-life programs, one source told the publication, adding that the "decision would be made at the service's highest levels."

[DamianTV]

AF said in another thread that within 5 years, we will see tobacco be made illegal. I think they're ramping up their gameplan...

[Uriel999]

If the navy/usmc tries to take away our tobacco I don't see it ending well. I'm pretty sure heads would roll

[DamianTV]

If the navy/usmc tries to take away our tobacco I don't see it ending well. I'm pretty sure heads would roll

They'll just take out the military with militarized police. They're totally accustomed to beating the shit out of people for no purpose.

[kcchiefs6465]

"Fighting for freedom"

L. O. L.

[kathy88]

Initial reaction: This might be the straw that broke the camel's back. Reality: Not a fuck will be given.

[phill4paul]

If the navy/usmc tries to take away our tobacco I don't see it ending well. I'm pretty sure heads would roll

Meh, I heard the same scuttlebutt when it came to beards in the 80's.

Sad day though. I used to pay off my bar tabs in American smokes while stationed in Japan.

[Origanalist]

If the navy/usmc tries to take away our tobacco I don't see it ending well. I'm pretty sure heads would roll

There are a lot of things I don't see ending well. A lot.

Heads should have rolled a long time ago, but they are still attached and continuing to do more every day.

[Uriel999]

They'll just take out the military with militarized police. They're totally accustomed to beating the shit out of people for no purpose.

Militarized police vs entire units of pissed off grunts... My unit has had riots over lesser incidents and that was just a few years ago.


Initial reaction: This might be the straw that broke the camel's back. Reality: Not a fuck will be given.

I'm pretty sure we will lose our shit. You can take a lot away from a Marine: chow, water, sleep, being dry, being clean, etc...but do not fuck with our grizzly wintergreen!


Meh, I heard the same scuttlebutt when it came to beards in the 80's.

Sad day though. I used to pay off my bar tabs in American smokes while stationed in Japan.


There are a lot of things I don't see ending well. A lot.

Heads should have rolled a long time ago, but they are still attached and continuing to do more every day.

Yeah but tobacco is different. It really would be annoying to deal with a prohibition on tobacco though, getting it through other means is a pita.

[Origanalist]

Yeah but tobacco is different. It really would be annoying to deal with a prohibition on tobacco though, getting it through other means is a pita.

Tobacco is no different. It's just another thing on a very, very long list of government getting involved where it shouldn't. I already side step the taxes and if "they" decide to make it illegal for everybody it will be just one more law that has no business being made.

We're so far down that road now it will be just another drop in the bucket.

[tod evans]

One of the major perks for new recruits in the '70's was the cheap booze and tobacco available on base.

If today's military is anything like it was then this'll never float....

[oyarde]

Meh, I heard the same scuttlebutt when it came to beards in the 80's.

Sad day though. I used to pay off my bar tabs in American smokes while stationed in Japan.
I have used cartons of Marlboro ( purchased at under $3 , tax exempt) for currency , places overseas when I was younger. Worked quite well as the equivalent for the natives was around 3 to 12 times that in whatever currency they were using .

[Pericles]

That is the sort of thing I would expect from a Global Force for Good(TM).

[Zippyjuan]

Tobacco is no different. It's just another thing on a very, very long list of government getting involved where it shouldn't. I already side step the taxes and if "they" decide to make it illegal for everybody it will be just one more law that has no business being made.

We're so far down that road now it will be just another drop in the bucket.

Interesting to note that the US military had a huge impact on the growth in popularity of cigarette smoking in this country when they handed them out to soldiers in WWII and WWII.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_in_the_United_States_military


Smoking in the United States military has been observed in previous wars, but smoking's close association with the United States military started in World War I when tobacco companies began to target military personnel through the distribution of cigarettes to servicemen and the eventual inclusion of cigarettes into rations. Although the military has attempted to implement tobacco control initiatives, the association between smoking and military personnel has persisted to the present day as smoking rates remain high, despite declines in civilian rates. Such high rates have led to questions about the effect of smoking from the apparent health risks to troop readiness and training costs.

With the entrance of the United States into World War I in 1918, cigarette use increased dramatically amongst United States military personnel as they were targeted by tobacco companies which touted cigarettes as a way for soldiers to psychologically escape from their current circumstances, boosting overall troop morale.[1][2] Cigarettes became so integrated into life on the battlefield that these symbols of pleasure and comfort were also used as a form of currency.[2] Although cigarettes had been regarded as a physical and moral hazard by early anti-tobacco movements around this time, by 1918, previously anti-cigarette organizations and the military began supporting efforts to distribute cigarettes to troops. The New York Times garnered support for these efforts by stating that cigarettes "lighten[ed] the inevitable hardships of war", and another popular periodical described cigarettes as the "last and only solace of the wounded." [1][3] With the rise of World War II, tobacco companies continued to foster this culture of wartime smoking by sending free cigarettes to troops and supporting the inclusion of cigarettes into the soldiers' rations. Advertisements also encouraged citizens back home to support the troops by sending cigarettes.[2] Despite mounting evidence in the 1950s of the adverse health effects of smoking and tobacco use, the military continued to include cigarettes in rations until 1975.[4]

[DamianTV]

Could be there is a relationship between the idea of getting shot at and being stressed. Of course, the preferred method of treatment for being stressed over getting shot at would be to issue anti depressants, en masse, then use that as a reason to not pay retirement when it comes due.

[kathy88]

Could be there is a relationship between the idea of getting shot at and being stressed. Of course, the preferred method of treatment for being stressed over getting shot at would be to issue anti depressants, en masse, then use that as a reason to not pay retirement when it comes due.

QFT. And don't forget take those pesky firearms away!

[DamianTV]

QFT. And don't forget take those pesky firearms away!

Dont they do that to most ex military personnel in general?

[oyarde]

Interesting to note that the US military had a huge impact on the growth in popularity of cigarette smoking in this country when they handed them out to soldiers in WWII and WWII.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_in_the_United_States_military

Oh yeah , best part of a K ration was the smokes I could give my guys . I smoked too , just took whatever my guys did not want ..... really , what the hell else are you going to do when you are laid up in a field hospital ,LOL , waiting in line , eating food not really worthy to be called shit , or nothing at all , wondering where you can get some water from , spending all your time just making sure you never run out of ammo , planning for what is next when you do ? ......

[oyarde]

QFT. And don't forget take those pesky firearms away!

Nobody is getting mine , LOL

[tod evans]

From Drudge;


Defense Secretary 'Looking' at Banning Tobacco Sales at Military Installations

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/defense-secretary-looking-banning-tobacco-sales-military-installations_786389.html


Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is "looking" at banning the sale of tobacco at military installations. According to one military publication, Hagel appears to support it.

"As the Navy considers banning tobacco sales on all bases and ships, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel gave a strong endorsement of the review Monday, and suggested that he would be in favor of a ban," reports Stars and Stripes.

“I don’t know if there’s anybody in America who still thinks that tobacco is good for you,” Stars and Stripes quotes Hagel as saying. “We don’t allow smoking in any of our government buildings. Restaurants, states, [and] municipalities have pretty clear regulations on this. I think in reviewing any options that we have as to whether we in the military through commissaries [or] PXs sell or continue to sell tobacco is something we need to look at. And we are looking at it. And I think we owe it to our people.”

Hagel said that the financial and human costs of tobacco use need to be taken into account. The secretary said that dealing with tobacco-related health issues costs the Defense Department more than a billion dollars a year.

“Now the dollars are one thing. But the health of your people — I don’t know if you put a price tag on that. So I think it does need to be looked at and reviewed,” Hagel said.

[donnay]

That's so they can give the guys/gals the pharmaceutical brand smoking cessation prescriptions.

We think the military suicide rate is high now--wait until these psychotropic smoking cessation drugs kick in.

High suicide rates related to anti-smoking drug Chantix were 'left out of crucial safety review'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1391774/Suicide-horror-smoking-drug-Chantix-fatality-reports-left-safety-review.html#ixzz2xe18TkuS

[RJB]

I'm from a military family and my dad always told me you got cheap cigarettes and booze so they won't have to pay for retirement. From the time I spent in the Marines, my dad is probably right, which is why I was suspicious of the article.

Now seeing your perspective, I guess the reasoning might be that suicide is cheaper to treat than chronic illness. :(


That's so they can give the guys/gals the pharmaceutical brand smoking cessation prescriptions.

We think the military suicide rate is high now--wait until these psychotropic smoking cessation drugs kick in.

High suicide rates related to anti-smoking drug Chantix were 'left out of crucial safety review'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1391774/Suicide-horror-smoking-drug-Chantix-fatality-reports-left-safety-review.html#ixzz2xe18TkuS

[pcosmar]

Damn,,
When I was in, cigarettes were still issued,, in C rations.

[pcosmar]

I'm from a military family and my dad always told me you got cheap cigarettes and booze so they won't have to pay for retirement. From the time I spent in the Marines, my dad is probably right, which is why I was suspicious of the article.

Now seeing your perspective, I guess the reasoning might be that suicide is cheaper to treat than chronic illness. :(

Hmm,, that doesn't really add up..
Check out all the Old Guys at any VFW hall.

[RJB]

Hmm,, that doesn't really add up..
Check out all the Old Guys at any VFW hall.

People who go in, get their eyes opened and get out as soon as their enlistment is up seem to do well. The body is resilient in the teens and early 20s

I was always amazed at lifers in their mid to late 30s looked like they were in their 50s and 60s. 20 years in the military is very rough on the body and mind.

[pcosmar]

I was always amazed at lifers in their mid to late 30s looked like they were in their 50s and 60s. 20 years in the military is very rough on the body and mind.

That is due to more that cigarettes and booze.. Stress (playing the game) and conscience (lies and dishonesty) has to play a role.

Look at the effects on any President in 4 to 8 years.

[Uriel999]

That is due to more that cigarettes and booze.. Stress (playing the game) and conscience (lies and dishonesty) has to play a role.

Look at the effects on any President in 4 to 8 years.

That must be why the corps hasn't screwed me up physically too bad...I don't play their game well. I will never pick up corporal but hey at least I still look young...ish. :/