We need our military healthy and smoke-free
Published Wednesday October 1st, 2008
We spend millions and millions of dollars a year to battle smoking in this country - reminding people of the dangers and even ordering stores to keep tobacco out of our sight.
Yet when it comes to encouraging military members not to light up, there appears to be a double standard.
Is there a profession anywhere where smoking seems more acceptable than among members of the armed forces?
As one U.S. organization put it: "Our military is our strongest line of physical defence and if they are sabotaged by smoking cigarettes then how grateful are we if we just let this continue?"
The same can be said for the Canadian Armed Forces.
Regardless of where you go these days, you will likely see a collection of men and women in uniform. It is a sign of the troubled times we find ourselves in.
The sad thing is that many of them will have a cigarette dangling from their lips.
According to statistics, at least 25 per cent of the men and women in the Forces are addicted to nicotine.
Why is this happening?
Is it because the nature of their job is so much more stressful than anything found in civilian life?
Or is it the culture that goes along with being in uniform?
It could be a combination of both.
For years, television and the motion picture industry have glamorized smoking in connection with anything that showed men or women in a uniform.
"God, I need a smoke," is a line that often pops up on the big screen as a soldier stops for a break.
If you are in a military uniform, smoking just seems like the natural thing to do.
Why this is so readily accepted is mind boggling.
The information we have available today with regard to smoking has never been more black and white.
Smoking kills.
It doesn't get any simpler than that.
According to Health Canada, cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of lung cancer - accounting for 85 per cent of all new cases of the disease in Canada.
And the news does not get any brighter once projected over the long-term.
In 1998, Health Canada said an estimated 17,100 Canadians died due to smoking-related lung cancer. Of the deaths caused by smoking-related disease, lung cancer accounted for 31 per cent of male deaths and 28 per cent of female deaths.
The fact that a person may be wearing a uniform does not provide immunity to this.
The good news is that the need to have its members stop smoking has not gone unnoticed by the military brass.
The annual "I Quit Challenge," is one example.
The program is designed to set a starting date for members who have already decided to quit. The challenge is to stay smoke free for one month with the hope that it will lead to something more permanent.
Success is encouraged with the promise of prizes.
The Butt Out program is another example of what's available for members of the Forces.
Military personnel are also entitled to nicotine replacement pharmaceuticals while trying to kick the habit, which certainly doesn't hurt.
According to the military, an addiction free lifestyle fits with its new Health and Physical Fitness Strategy.
The goal of the Canadian Forces is to increase the non-smoking rate from 75 per cent, recorded in 2004, to 83 per cent by 2010.
It's in everyone's best interest to encourage our military members not to smoke.
Like the aforementioned American statement points out, the military is our strongest line of physical defence. We need them healthy.
If we really care about the good health and good fortunes of our Armed Forces, we should do everything in our power to encourage the men and women who fill the ranks not to smoke.
It might look glamorous to light up and puff away, but in the end it could kill you.
Michael Staples covers the military for The Daily Gleaner. He can be reached at staples.michael@dailygleaner.com
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