The U.S. navy has banned smoking of pipes, cigars or cigarettes in its submarine fleet. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Pentagon have launched this initiative as part of their war against tobacco. Programs are underway to help military personnel quit smoking. The aim is to protect their health and save money in health care expenses.
Protection From Secondhand Smoke
Serving in submarines can be an arduous task given the lonely and long deployments. And, smoking is a known stress reliever, albeit one that is harmful. The main reason smoking has been banned in submarines is to protect non-smoking crew members from secondhand smoke. Despite using air purification technology, secondhand smoke levels are still unacceptably high in submerged submarines. Therefore, smoking has been banned to make the atmosphere healthy for nonsmoking sailors.
Ban Effective From End 2010
But, smoking submariners are not required to quit cold turkey. They have time till the end of this year, as the ban will be effective only then. Five thousand sailors, or about 40 percent, of the navy’s 13,000 submarine crew members are acknowledged smokers. Each submarine will have a designated senior officer, who will help sailors quit smoking by supplying them nicotine patches, nicotine gum and other replacement aids.
Smoking Allowed Aboard Surface Warships
Smoking is allowed aboard surface warships, albeit only in designated areas. Sailors wishing to quit smoking have access to pharmacists, dentists and physicians, who can help them. About 33% of military personnel are acknowledged smokers. Many started smoking after they were put on active duty. Unlike in the past, cigarette packages are not included in military food packages, since the Defense Department does not wish to encourage smoking.
But, Pentagon officials have not banned tobacco use in combat zone. This is because personnel in Afghanistan and Iran are already under intense pressure.
