News Stories

Smoking Costs Military Over $130 Million a Year
from Reuters Monday February 26 8:30 PM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Smoking is costing the U.S. military more than $130 million a year in lost training because of the high early discharge rate among smokers, American researchers said on Tuesday.

A study of 29,000 Air Force trainees by scientists at the University of Memphis in Tennessee showed that the dropout rate among smokers was nearly double that of non-smokers and cost the Air Force $18 million a year in excess training costs.

When they estimated the costs across all the U.S. military services it came to $130 million a year.

``Smoking is related to early discharge from the US military and may cost the Department of Defense over $130 million per year or close to one percent of the total annual training costs,'' said Dr. Robert Klesges of the Center for Community Health at the university.

In a study published in the journal Tobacco Control, Klesges and his colleagues said the Air Force had the lowest rate of smokers with 28.5 percent while nearly half of all Marines, or 45 percent, were smokers.

They found that smoking was the best indicator of early discharge over one year of training among new recruits. It was also an indication of other behaviors.

Smokers tended to be from lower income families. The habit was also associated with dieting, drug and alcohol abuse and lack of physical activity.

``Probably the most sensible recommendation would be for the military to step up its efforts to encourage non-smokers to join the armed forces as well as to support smoking cessation efforts among those who smoke,'' Klesges added.

Smoking in the United States accounts for more than 430,000 deaths each year, including 30 percent of all cancer deaths. Treating smoking related diseases costs $50-73 billion a year, or six to eight percent of annual personal health costs.