Blumenthal, Colleagues Urge Navy Secretary To Prohibit Tobacco Sales At Naval Bases, Aboard Ships

(Washington, DC) – In a letter to U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) – leading a group of four other senators – urged the department to prohibit the sale of tobacco products at naval bases and aboard ships, a move the department is currently considering. Blumenthal was joined by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).

“We recognize, support and thank you for your recent efforts to increase smoke-free areas on bases, eliminate smoking on submarines, and improve access to cessation services,” the senators wrote. “Again, we applaud your ongoing efforts to help our sailors and Marines break nicotine addiction and avoid the life-long health complications and deaths associated with tobacco use. We urge you to do everything in your capacity to address this issue for our military men and women, including moving forward with the proposal to stop the sale of tobacco aboard all naval bases and ships.”

Full text of the letter is below and attached:

March 28, 2014

The Honorable Ray Mabus
Secretary of the Navy
Office of the Secretary of the Navy
2000 Navy Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20350-2000

Dear Secretary Mabus,

We understand that you are considering prohibiting the sale of all tobacco products aboard naval bases and ships. We commend your efforts and hope that you will move forward with this initiative which will renew emphasis on the health of our dedicated sailors and Marines as well as provide for increased combat readiness.

The high rate of tobacco use by active-duty personnel is not only harmful to their health, but also costs the federal government significantly in the longterm. While annual profits from all Department of Defense (DOD) authorized military tobacco sales are roughly $90 million, a DOD report from June 2009 estimated that the annual tobacco-related military health costs and lost productivity are about $1.9 billion, or 21 times greater than the annual sales. While smoking rates among active-duty military have decreased in the past few decades—similar to the trends that we are seeing in the civilian population—DOD should do more to lower the smoking rates among active-duty military.

A 2008 DOD study found that smoking rates among all branches of the military was 30.6 percent, compared to 20.6 percent among adults in the general U.S. population. Additionally, 33 percent of surveyed active-duty personnel said that the availability of cigarettes at many places on installations made it easier to smoke. Wide availability could contribute to the fact that nearly half of all smokers surveyed had attempted to quit but were unsuccessful. Several factors purportedly contribute to high smoking rates such as stress relief and the desire to relax or calm down. The Department should ensure that adequate support is always available to personnel seeking to quit tobacco use, including the existing effort to offer tobacco cessation products and services.

We recognize, support and thank you for your recent efforts to increase smoke-free areas on bases, eliminate smoking on submarines, and improve access to cessation services. Again, we applaud your ongoing efforts to help our sailors and Marines break nicotine addiction and avoid the life-long health complications and deaths associated with tobacco use. We urge you to do everything in your capacity to address this issue for our military men and women, including moving forward with the proposal to stop the sale of tobacco aboard all naval bases and ships.

Sincerely,

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL
United States Senate

RICHARD J. DURBIN
United States Senate

TOM HARKIN
United States Senate

JACK REED
United States Senate

SHERROD BROWN
United States Senate