When the US Army tackles the scourge of smoking in its ranks
11 May 2020
Par: chef-projet@dnf.asso.fr
Dernière mise à jour: 11 May 2020
Temps de lecture: 3 minutes
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[1] (CDC) estimates that 5.6 million American smokers under the age of 18 will die from smoking-related illnesses, or 1 in 13 Americans under the age of 18 today.
Last December, the United States amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, thereby increasing the minimum legal age for the sale of tobacco products to 21. As of August 1, retail outlets will no longer be authorized to sell cigarettes, shisha tobacco, electronic cigarettes and their e-liquids, or smokeless tobacco to anyone under the age of 21.
The US Department of Defense has already taken exemplary steps to ensure the effectiveness of this ban. By July 1, 2020, all points of sale located in Department facilities, including warships, must have posted information posters for their customers.
This commitment to the fight against smoking is not new. After identifying that the prevalence of smoking was highest among military personnel under 25, the Army Public Health Center[2] (APHC) has set a goal of eliminating smoking in the military by 2025. However, American citizens who will be soldiers in 2025 are currently in secondary school. It is therefore understandable that in order to eradicate the scourge of smoking in the American military, initiatives[3] focus primarily on young people and particularly on minors.
According to Corey Fitzgerald, a public health social worker with APHC, research has shown that raising the legal age of sale of tobacco products to 21 is an opportunity to reduce tobacco initiation and use among youth, largely because this group is particularly targeted by tobacco companies.[4].
[2] https://phc.amedd.army.mil/Pages/default.aspx
[3] https://phc.amedd.army.mil/topics/healthyliving/tfl/Pages/TFLEducation.aspx
