Platform : Smoking in the Military: ‘Complete Ban Is Folly’

A new Pentagon policy will effectively ban smoking from all military workplaces when it takes effect April 8. We asked some Southern California current and retired military personnel their views on the subject.

TOM TINDALL

Lieutenant colonel, U.S. Army ROTC at USC

Everywhere I’ve been over the past five years, I don’t think we’ve been allowed to smoke in offices. Maybe that’s been local policy that’s been reinforced by higher headquarters.

Over the 22 years I’ve been in the Army, we’ve gotten more and more serious about physical fitness in the sense that we challenge our bodies more.

Each year, more of even the older guys quit smoking. It’s mostly a personal decision. There’s very little overt pressure from above in the sense that a boss would make a derogatory comment about someone who’s smoking.

DOUG SAYERS

Public affairs officer, Naval Air Station Miramar, San Diego

As we understand it, it’s not going to be a big deal for us. We’ve de-emphasized alcohol and tobacco consumption. You can’t go in a building here without seeing some sort of anti-smoking poster.

Part of it is a natural reflection of what’s going on in society. We were out looking for people who were smoking in designated areas outside the buildings and had a great deal of trouble finding any.

ROBERT A. WALTER

Colonel, USMC, retired, Huntington Beach

I didn’t smoke until I was 21, when a Japanese battleship off Guadalcanal popped 14-inch shells into Henderson Field for two hours. I’ve smoked on and off since then.

I think they have to be reasonable about this type of thing. They should have smoking areas aboard ship or in offices away from nonsmokers, but putting a complete ban on it is folly. I think we’re coming to a point on smoking where it’s becoming a Big Brother thing, nothing more than social engineering. If I want to shorten my life expectancy by smoking, that’s my business so long as I am not offensive or endangering other people.

FERRIS COOK

Master sergeant, USMC, retired, Oceanside

I think it’s good. You’d be in a little closed-in room and people would come in with cigarettes. I would stop the meeting and tell them: ‘You’ve got non-smokers in here; either put them out or leave.’ I don’t smoke, but there were a lot of times, even though no one was smoking in my office, you would get the smoke anyway. It was kind of a distraction. When you go to some of those military functions where you have from 25 to 50 people there and at least one-third smoke, you could tell you’d been there because you had smoke in your clothes--like going into a bar.

SHERWOOD DODGE

Navy veteran, volunteer for the Disabled American Veterans, Los Angeles

I would agree that there should be no smoking in workplaces. But I don’t think you can just all of a sudden penalize smokers. You have to provide some place for me to be able to puff my brains out if that’s what I want to do. And also have access to it. I don’t think you can say, “Well, gee, you can only have 10 minutes every four hours in which to go down and have a cigarette.” In the everyday stress of life, especially now that we’ve had this earthquake and the freeways are shut, there are times when I just have to pull over to the side of the road and have a cigarette.