Military revs up campaign against tobacco

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Brent Skeen
  • Air Combat Command Public Affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFPN) --  Military officials here boosted its efforts to campaign against the use of tobacco by providing a number of strategies recently.

Quitting for other people is the focal part of the campaign, which urges tobacco users to consider dropping the habit for loved ones.

The expense of taxpayers is also a focus point for the campaign. Every year the Department of Defense spends approximately $1.6 billion in additional medical care due to the harmful affects of tobacco. The Air Force alone spends about $115 million annually.

Each year the Air Force loses the equivalent of an estimated 3,000 people's worth of work because of tobacco use, said Col. Kenneth Knight, the Air Combat Command chief of the Aerospace Medicine Division.

Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Rodney J. McKinley is in newspaper and television ads promoting the Web site youcanquit2.org. The DOD site uses visual methods to attract young adults who use tobacco. Unique features of the site include live online counselors who offer free support to quit, a calculator to prove how much tobacco costs over time, and games as an alternative to smoke breaks. Some examples of games include Texas Hold 'Em and a word game similar to hangman.

"Our site caters to active-duty military in the 18 to 24 range," wrote an online tobacco cessation coach in a chat session, "but we will not turn anyone away who wants support in kicking the habit."

Education is a third focal point of the campaign. The harmful affects from tobacco has been well documented over the years, and officials at health and wellness centers at Air Force bases are available to discuss them.

"Heart disease, cancer, and stroke are the three leading causes of death, and they are all associated with tobacco use," said Judith Blitz a teacher for tobacco cessation classes at the Langley Air Force Base HAWC. "Tobacco users have a higher absentee rate. They're at a higher risk of getting colds and the flu because of the mucus -- when you get mucus in your lungs, you're at a higher risk for bacteria and viruses." She also pointed out that tobacco damages almost every organ in the human body.

Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link)

View the comments/letters page