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| Air Force tobacco bans are gaining steam |
| 2007-04-29 |
| The U.S. Air Force, faced with a goal of dramatically reducing tobacco use by 2010, is getting set to implement its first widespread ban on such products. The Air Force Material Command will soon start a three-phase program that will eventually eliminate the use of tobacco products at its bases, according to Lt. Col. Sherry Sasser, chief of health promotions for the Air Force Surgeon General’s office. Sasser said Thursday in a telephone interview that the move — which doesn’t have a specific start date yet — was approved last week at a Community Action Information Board meeting. The quarterly meetings are held by the services to discuss issues and implement changes. “It boils down to dollars. It boils down to resources,” said Sasser, citing statistics that the Air Force loses more than $80 million annually in productivity because of airmen who use tobacco products. “There is not one positive health benefit from using tobacco. Not one.” The plan by the AFMC has been months in the making, she said. The 31st Medical Group at Aviano Air Base implemented a ban on its airmen smoking in uniform in March, and other bases have banned smoking in on-base dorms. But such moves have never been tried by a major command. AFMC, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, includes 10 bases in the States. Among them are Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., Robins Air Force Base, Ga., and Hill Air Force Base in Utah. The first phase of the AFMC program, Sasser said, is banning tobacco use by personnel in uniform. Bans in dorms and government housing would follow, with the final phase being the elimination of such products on base. The plan drew decidedly mixed reactions at Aviano on Friday. “That sucks,” said Staff Sgt. Joe Barnes with the 31st Communications Squadron. “I smoke during the duty day. Smoking is the only chance I get to go outside and take a break.” “I think it’s great,” said Tech. Sgt. William Dellick of the 31st Maintenance Operations Squadron. “It’s a bad image.” “I don’t think it’s right,” said Tech. Sgt. Kent Klotz from the 31st Logistics Operations Squadron. “It’s not an illegal substance, so people should be allowed to use it. I don’t think people should be allowed to smoke in government buildings, but this is different.” “It’s good,” said Senior Airman Matt Marquardt, also from the 31st LRS. “I don’t smoke. I think it’s stupid. It impairs the mission when people take 50 smoke breaks a day. It should have been done 10 years ago.” Sasser estimated about 27 percent of airmen use tobacco products. The service’s goal is to reduce that number to 12 percent within three years. “Ultimately, we would like to be smoke-free,” she said. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #6 Moose, unfortunately, has more than a grain of truth in his assessment. PBD 723 mandated a reduction of approximately 40,000 over 5 years. A key element of the AF's approach to this transformation was taking a significant number of aircraft off flying status. Congress was having none of it. So, when you can't get rid of whole squadrons, it gets a little more difficult to meet your manpower goals. Using tobacco use an excuse to reduce the force is just a convenient, and, for many senior officers, pleasing mechanism. Too many senior officers forget that the AF mission is "to fly and to fight" rather than control the private lives of its airmen. The tobacco ban is typical of the moralistic bent of AF senior command. This has been done before. First, slot machines were removed from the clubs and then drinking became demonized. The result was the virtual death of service clubs. So now, if anyone wants a drink, they go off base. Another example of the AF as nanny is the neverending fixation on weight as opposed to physical fitness, but that is a rant in and of itself. |
| Posted by: RWV 2007-04-29 22:01 |
| #5 Hitler, too, wanted to enforce a no smoking ban!!! |
| Posted by: borgboy2001 2007-04-29 21:42 |
| #4 What would General Jack D. Ripper say??? |
| Posted by: borgboy2001 2007-04-29 21:41 |
| #3 Hmmmm, it seems to me that banning smokes or other forms of tobacco use on AF bases is probably a bad idea. I mean, think about the implications - do you really want someone with the shakes from nicotine withdrawal working on anything from bombs to airplanes to refueling tankers just because they can't take a break for a smoke or a chew? Personally, I want military personnel as relaxed and focused as possible - and nicotine opens brain synapses, allowing clearer, calmer thought processes and also eases tensions and stress (all at the same time it's trying to kill you, of course, but then there's that pesky job and the enemy trying to do the same thing). |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2007-04-29 19:16 |
| #2 The Air Force is using smoking as an excuse to RIF lots of personnel, because they are way over their projected needs. If they can force them out because they smoke, it's a lot cheaper than paying them to leave. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-04-29 16:08 |
| #1 Another idiotic anti-freedom move by imposing totalitarian ideology on those that are supposed to defend individual freedom. My wife smokes. The price of cigarettes in the commissary is higher than it is on the civilian economy. All of the local base is supposed to be a smoke-free environment, except in very limited "smoking allowed" areas. I don't give a damn if “There is not one positive health benefit from using tobacco - Not one.” Smoking isn't illegal. Restricting personnel from engaging in a legal act is tyranny, whether it's smoking or anything else. The Air Force needs to understand that its duty is to protect individual freedoms, not trample them. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-04-29 16:03 |