06 novembre 2009
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TOBACCO-CONTROL ACTIVITIES
DoD and each of the armed services have a stated goal of a tobacco-free military, but
tobacco-control efforts have not been given high priority by the Office of the Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Health Affairs, OASD(HA), or the individual services’ Office of the Surgeon
General. There have been recent signs, however, that tobacco control is receiving more attention
with the rollout of DoD’s “Quit Tobacco. Make Everyone Proud” public-education campaign.
DoD policies to prevent smoking and encourage cessation are outlined in the Code of Federal
Regulations, Title 32, Part 85, which charges each armed service to develop its own healthpromotion
plans. The service plans typically cover where military personnel may use tobacco,
requirements for access to tobacco-cessation programs, and specifications about the role of
commanders and staff in promoting tobacco cessation and deglamorizing tobacco use.
In 1999, the Alcohol and Tobacco Advisory Counsel in the OASD(HA) developed a
Tobacco Use Prevention Strategic Plan that outlined goals and tasks; metrics and objectives;
policy, program, practice, and resource requirements; and a timeline. That plan, which is still in
effect, has eight goals:
• Reduce smoking rates by 5% per year and reduce smokeless-tobacco use to 15% by
2001.
• Promote a tobacco-free lifestyle and culture through education and leadership.
• Educate commanders in how to encourage healthy and tobacco-free lifestyles.
• Promote the benefits of nonsmoking and provide tobacco counteradvertising.
• Decrease accessibility by increasing tobacco prices and by restricting smoking areas and
use.
• Have the MHS identify users and provide targeted interventions.
• Have the MHS provide effective cessation programs.
• Continually assess best practices in tobacco-use prevention.
The strategic plan covers many of the key components that make up a comprehensive
tobacco-control plan, including the existence of a strategic plan itself, policy review and
development, public-relations and education activities, the use of evidence-based tobaccocessation
interventions, and surveillance and evaluation. It also has requirements for specific
policies on tobacco pricing, access, and restrictions of when and where tobacco can be used on
installations.
The committee found that DoD and the services had not been able to achieve the goal of
reducing smoking rates or rates of smokeless-tobacco use. Tobacco use declined overall from
1980 to 2005, but there has recently been an increase in consumption, possibly because of
increased tobacco use by deployed troops.
DoD and the services have promoted tobacco-free lifestyles through public-education
campaigns, commander training, a complete ban on tobacco use during basic military training in
all the services, and prohibition of tobacco use by training instructors in the presence of students.
Tobacco use is addressed in health-education programs, including those for commanding
officers. The services also encourage—but do not require—that commanders lead by example
with regard to tobacco use. The Air Force has been the most successful in reducing tobacco use,
particularly among officers.
Tobacco counteradvertising is a complex issue in the military and is not consistent among
the services. DoD’s counteradvertising campaign “Quit Tobacco. Make Everyone Proud”
includes a Web site, posters, games, and educational materials tailored to young military men.
DoD tobacco-cessation activities conducted by health-promotion personnel include health fairs,
Web sites, and other activities that raise the profile of tobacco cessation. The committee was
unable to determine whether public-affairs staff are engaged in tobacco counteradvertising, but it
noted that many of the services’ newsletters and Web sites contain articles on tobacco-control
activities.
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