The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: ericire12 on July 10, 2009, 11:14:20 AM
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DONT smoke 'em if ya got 'em!
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2009-07-09-smoking_N.htm
WASHINGTON — Pentagon health experts are urging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ban the use of tobacco by troops and end its sale on military property, a change that could dramatically alter a culture intertwined with smoking.
Jack Smith, head of the Pentagon's office of clinical and program policy, says he will recommend that Gates adopt proposals by a federal study that cites rising tobacco use and higher costs for the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs as reasons for the ban.
The study by the Institute of Medicine, requested by the VA and Pentagon, calls for a phased-in ban over a period of years, perhaps up to 20. "We'll certainly be taking that recommendation forward," Smith says.
A tobacco ban would confront a military culture, the report says, in which "the image of the battle-weary soldier in fatigues and helmet, fighting for his country, has frequently included his lit cigarette."
Also, the report said, troops worn out by repeated deployments often rely on cigarettes as a "stress reliever." The study found that tobacco use in the military increased after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Barack Obama | Robert Gates | Institute of Medicine | Kenneth Kizer
Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said the department supports a smoke-free military "and believes it is achievable." She declined to elaborate on any possible ban.
One in three servicemembers use tobacco, the report says, compared with one in five adult Americans. The heaviest smokers are soldiers and Marines, who have done most of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the study says. About 37% of soldiers use tobacco and 36% of Marines. Combat veterans are 50% more likely to use tobacco than troops who haven't seen combat.
Tobacco use costs the Pentagon $846 million a year in medical care and lost productivity, says the report, which used older data. The Department of Veterans Affairs spends up to $6 billion in treatments for tobacco-related illnesses, says the study, which was released late last month.
Along with a phased-in ban, the report recommends requiring new officers and enlisted personnel to be tobacco-free, eliminating tobacco use on military installations, ships and aircraft, expanding treatment programs and eliminating the sale of tobacco on military property. "Any tobacco use while in uniform should be prohibited," the study says.
The military complicates attempts to curb tobacco use by subsidizing tobacco products for troops who buy them at base exchanges and commissaries, says Kenneth Kizer, a committee member and architect of California's anti-tobacco program.
Seventy percent of profits from tobacco sales — $88 million in 2005 — pays for recreation and family support programs, the study stays.
Strong leadership could make the military tobacco-free in five to 10 years, Kizer says. President Obama, he says, could set an example for the military by ending his own smoking habit once and for all. Last month, Obama said he is "95% cured" but "there are times when I mess up" and smoke.
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Leave our troops the F%$k alone you illegal alien, usurping, bastard (Thanks for the loan Tom).
If our guys or gals want a smoke in the field or need to light up after a long, bitch of a day then leave them alone.
Don't you dip sh%$s get that they are putting their lives on the line for us?
Back off Secretary Gates!!! >:(
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Leave our troops the F%$k alone you illegal alien, usurping, bastard (Thanks for the loan Tom).
If our guys or gals want a smoke in the field or need to light up after a long, bitch of a day then leave them alone.
Don't you dip sh%$s get that they are putting their lives on the line for us?
Back off Secretary Gates!!! >:(
This is just a first step. A national tobacco ban on EVERYbody will be required in order to cut expenses once Obamacare is the law of the land.
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This is just a first step. A national tobacco ban on EVERYbody will be required in order to cut expenses once Obamacare is the law of the land.
Yes, since it worked so well with booze and some drugs. Need to open up more Govt. enforcement jobs to get people back to work.
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This is just a first step. A national tobacco ban on EVERYbody will be required in order to cut expenses once Obamacare is the law of the land.
I don't doubt that for a second.
We'll also pay higher Obama care rates if we eat fast food, don't hit the gym daily, have a disease, etc...........
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This is just a first step. A national tobacco ban on EVERYbody will be required in order to cut expenses once Obamacare is the law of the land.
What I think is funny about this is that they are trying to make them stop smoking so they can be healthier..... THEY ARE ON THE FRONT LINE WITH BULLETS WHIZZING BY THEIR HEADS, BUT HEY, LETS TRY TO REDUCE THE CHANCES THEY WILL GET CANCER 30 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD. ::)
Nanny state indeed!
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There is nothing in this world more dangerous than a reformed anything. Smokers, drinkers, what have have you. They think because they quit, everyone else can and should, prefferably now. I admire their resolve but still want to strangle them.
FQ13
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There is nothing in this world more dangerous than a reformed anything. Smokers, drinkers, what have have you. They think because they quit, everyone else can and should, prefferably now. I admire their resolve but still want to strangle them.
FQ13
Yet, Obama still smokes
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Yet, Obama still smokes
He's still on the to strangle list. I'm sure a lot of W voters wound up feeling the same way. In all honesty though its probaly the bean counters at the VA that drove this though.
FQ13
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He's still on the to strangle list. I'm sure a lot of W voters wound up feeling the same way. In all honesty though its probaly the bean counters at the VA that drove this though.
FQ13
Doesn't matter, your boy the post turtle is still (and will remain) on the to strangle list. ;D
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(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm182/twyacht/JamesBlakeMillerMarine_pt.jpg)
You tell this marine he can't smoke.
I'm not that stupid....Evidently, BHO is....
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Expletive Ignored fq
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Expletive Ignored fq
What exactly is your malfunction tumble? Yes, we disagree politically, fine. Otherwise, I think I have been a pretty good board member. This hit and run sniping is geting both old and sad. If you have something to say either post or PM me or FO yourself.
FQ13
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What exactly is your malfunction tumble? Yes, we disagree politically, fine. Otherwise, I think I have been a pretty good board member. This hit and run sniping is geting both old and sad. If you have something to say either post or PM me or FO yourself.
FQ13
Now your getting into the spirit of it ! ;D
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Now your getting into the spirit of it ! ;D
Resistance is futile,......The assimilation has begun.... ::)
"Borg"
Seriously, to the OP, The soldiers that choose want to smoke? Let em. They can run PSA's, educational videos, anti-smoking campaigns in boot camp, but when the SHTF in combat, if those soldiers want a cigarette, they should be able to do so.
My humble .02 cents...
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Welcome to the Dark Side ::)
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Wow...how stupid is this?
A lot of these kids are too young to have a beer at home but they're out getting shot at for all of us (including the Post Turtle in Chief). Quit busting their balls.
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Wow...how stupid is this?
A lot of these kids are too young to have a beer at home but they're out getting shot at for all of us (including the Post Turtle in Chief). Quit busting their balls.
Comment of the day award if eric is following this. Plus an MID should let you drink in any state of the union.
FQ13
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I think that if you run the numbers on health risks, their risk of developing cancer from the cigarette smoke is the same or less than the health effects of the smoke of the war zone, the danger from flying bullets and debris, and the risk of spinning rotors and moving parts on the machines they operate in and around.
If a cigarette or cigar calms their nerves a little or fills their down time, let them have it!
Next thing you will see is a ban on lead bullets because it causes a risk of lead poisoning as it passes through the body and leaves small traces of metal behind ???
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Note to the paranoid and illiterate:
"Pentagon health experts are urging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ban the use of tobacco ..."
That means people who work in the Pentagon are ASKING the Def Sec to ban... Obama, as much as you are dying to hate him and blame him for all the evils- real and certainly imagined, ISN'T said Pentagon health officials. Perhaps if Mr. Rogers read you the news it wouldn't scare you into believing that evil liberal negro is out to get you.
Loosen the straps on the tin-foil hats guys, You are hurting your brains. ::)
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OK, folks, it appears we have a site pest. Golly, he followed me home, can we keep him? ? ? ? ?
Note to the paranoid and illiterate:
"Pentagon health experts are urging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ban the use of tobacco ..."
That means people who work in the Pentagon are ASKING the Def Sec to ban... Obama, as much as you are dying to hate him and blame him for all the evils- real and certainly imagined, ISN'T said Pentagon health officials. Perhaps if Mr. Rogers read you the news it wouldn't scare you into believing that evil liberal negro is out to get you.
Loosen the straps on the tin-foil hats guys, You are hurting your brains. ::)
OK, it is not the fact that he is an "evil liberal negro" to use your parlance, it is that he is a lying, traitorous, socialist ursurper (did I get them all Tom?). His skin tone has nothing to do with it. His actions in destroying this country and its economy do have everything to do with it. Had you spent more than 5 minutes here, you would know that.
And do you really think the WH has nothing to do with what goes on at the Pentagon? Are you that naive?
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OK, folks, it appears we have a site pest. Golly, he followed me home, can we keep him? ? ? ? ?
Yes you may! And, you are also encouraged to give him some tasks to earn his keep. I was going to post the suggested photo, but it is not in photobucket, and it is not on my office 'puter, so you will need to wait till I get off ... I am off ... finally leave later.
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OK, folks, it appears we have a site pest. Golly, he followed me home, can we keep him? ? ? ? ?
OK, it is not the fact that he is an "evil liberal negro" to use your parlance, it is that he is a lying, traitorous, socialist ursurper (did I get them all Tom?). His skin tone has nothing to do with it. His actions in destroying this country and its economy do have everything to do with it. Had you spent more than 5 minutes here, you would know that.
And do you really think the WH has nothing to do with what goes on at the Pentagon? Are you that naive?
Path, I think you left out bastard,....
Why is he rushing to ram and cram all this legislation through, with Pelosi the botox lapdog enabling????
Look at his poll numbers....They are tumbling.....
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Onrecess, go back to school, this is a Republic, based on LAW, not the "dictatorship of the whiners".
As for the socialist in chief, I think he should hung, for his red politics, not his black ass.
Now why don't you go troll on Dumbocrat. com where you and your socialist BS belong.
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Here you go path.
As you get him settled in at home you can just think of him as you new target .................................................... assistant ;D
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e330/m58/bad-job.jpg)
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So I guess ravings against him are justified even based on somebody else asking for something and apparently (so far) nobody in power giving two hoots in heck. Do I think he has "nothing to do with what goes on at the pentagon" or am I going to stretch that into somebody there asked for something and got turned down so Obama must be behind it and the black helicopters. I smoked my whole life and really could care less if anyone smokes, drinks, shoots drugs or gargles drano. The idiots (like the health experts in story) who claim people dying of cancer costs money make no sense to me. Everybody dies of something and medical bills cost a zillion and half the time the hospitals steal everything you got while you go. At least us smokers die earlier and save us money. (Yeah, I just quit but that always lasts about 5 years.) I was trying to inject a bit of humor and perhaps make some of you think about the crap you are buying into about evil dems ruining everything by taxing the rich the same we did when the economy worked for the working man. Do you really believe Obama gives a rat's rear if soldiers smoke??? Really?
And destroying the economy??? Really? What economy? The disaster he walked in on? You couldn't ruin it a whole lot more than allowing the rich to buy every company, lay off everybody, steal their pensions and sell it as scrap. look around! Anyone over 40 lived back when the middle class was growing, your kids faced a better future than you, and Americans made SOMETHING. Who was in power all those years? Who has been the whole time it has turned to crap? Yeah, but Obama doesn't want soldiers to be able to smoke! Geez! It is like a bad joke. All the fear mongering and doom of democracy crap has started to be seen as the smokescreen it is by most of the country. They saw their life savings stolen and thought, "Gee, this everything for the rich crap is ruining my kid's chances and the darn country." Maybe, just maybe, if you think about how this nothing story about no policy or actual action has been used to inflame you, maybe you will see that every story you see is manipulated the same way. Anybody not a complete fool has to see this "story" is smoke. Five guys own 95% of the "liberal" media. People are turning away from this fake news in droves. I don't care how liberal or conservative you are, anybody can see this is smoke. Don't be sheeple!
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None of us here really care what some brainwashed overage hippie thinks, you have become boring and predictable.
Go back to your toy cars.
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onrecess,
you did Janine Garofalo proud.
That was an impressive use of gobbledygook and doublespeak.
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onrecess,
you did Janine Garofalo proud.
That was an impressive use of gobbledygook and doublespeak.
Oh dude, gobbledygook...haven't heard that one for a while...and he claims to be a teacher in Boca Raton...he's one of your boys!!! :D :D :D ;)
Sounds like living a fairyland city of wealth may have given him a serious dose of lack of reality.
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Note to the paranoid and illiterate:
"Pentagon health experts are urging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ban the use of tobacco ..."
That means people who work in the Pentagon are ASKING the Def Sec to ban... Obama, as much as you are dying to hate him and blame him for all the evils- real and certainly imagined, ISN'T said Pentagon health officials. Perhaps if Mr. Rogers read you the news it wouldn't scare you into believing that evil liberal negro is out to get you.
Loosen the straps on the tin-foil hats guys, You are hurting your brains. ::)
I'm going back here to two question you:
You state that this means it is just people that work in the Pentagon, but if you read the entire article you will clearly see that they are talking a smoke free military in a number of years. In your own words - "Perhaps if Mr. Rogers read you the news it would" get through in more than sound bites.
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I'm going back here to two question you:
You state that this means it is just people that work in the Pentagon, but if you read the entire article you will clearly see that they are talking a smoke free military in a number of years. In your own words - "Perhaps if Mr. Rogers read you the news it would" get through in more than sound bites.
Mike, you are confusing this with truth. If a lib has to think his head may blow up....according to Tom,...and you wouldn't want that to happen, would you?
Libs...believe that everyone should be able to do what they want to do...except when they think it matters, then instead of people having a choice they use laws, law enforcement, guns and clubs to enforce their freedom. Of course, that can't happen here, right?
I submit that the libs, in their fervent support of this socialist/marxist/fascist regime in the White House, should refresh themselves on what the supporters of aspiring facists receive as a reward after the ascendecy into power of their favored spawn....there is a historical record. Was called the "Night of the Long Knives" in Germany?
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Oh dude, gobbledygook...haven't heard that one for a while...and he claims to be a teacher in Boca Raton...he's one of your boys!!! :D :D :D ;)
Sounds like living a fairyland city of wealth may have given him a serious dose of lack of reality.
[/b]
Boca Raton = Mouth of the Rat.
Lots and Lots of Kool-Aid up there, and a teacher too?
Great. Now there's more than 1 here... :-\