Register for email alerts and news feeds:
This journal | BMJ Group
rss
Tobacco Control 1998;7:236-240; doi:10.1136/tc.7.3.236
Copyright © 1998 by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.
Tob Control 1998;7:236-240 ( Autumn )

Comparing tobacco use among incoming recruits and military personnel on active duty in the United States

Michael C Chisicka, Forrest R Poindexterb, Andrew K Yorkc

a US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, USA, b Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, DC, c Naval Dental Research Institute-Detachment, Bethesda, Maryland

Correspondence to: LTC Mike Chisick, 2422 Bibury Lane, Apartment 203, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1993, USA. LTC_Mike_Chisick{at}chppm-ccmail.apgea.army.mil

OBJECTIVE---To compare the tobacco use profile of recruits with that of military personnel on active duty to determine whether the military environment in some way induces service members to initiate tobacco use.
DESIGN AND SETTING---Cross-sectional survey of United States armed forces active duty and recruit personnel in 1994-95.
SUBJECTS---2711 military recruits and 4603 military personnel on active duty.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES---Comparative cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use prevalence between recruits and personnel on active duty controlling for age, sex, and race. Impact of demographic factors on the odds of smoking or using smokeless tobacco.
RESULTS---Increases in tobacco use in American military personnel occurred exclusively in men. The highest tobacco use resided with white men on active duty (43% cigarette smoking; 24% smokeless tobacco use) and represents a doubling of tobacco use seen among white male recruits. Among non-white men, tobacco use increased 2-4 times between recruits and personnel on active duty.
CONCLUSIONS---Efforts to reduce tobacco use by American military personnel on active duty should focus more on discouraging the initiation of tobacco use.


Keywords: tobacco use; military personnel; United States

© 1998 by Tobacco Control
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Haddock, C. K., Parker, L. C., Taylor, J. E., Poston, W. S.C., Lando, H., Talcott, G. W. (2005). An Analysis of Messages About Tobacco in Military Installation Newspapers. Am. J. Public Health 95: 1458-1463 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • WOODRUFF, S. I, CONWAY, T. L, EDWARDS, C. C, ELDER, J. P (1999). The United States navy attracts young women who smoke. Tobacco Control 8: 222-223 [Full Text]  
  • CONWAY, T. L (1998). Tobacco use and the United States military: a longstanding problem. Tobacco Control 7: 219-221 [Full Text]  

This Article

Services
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Bookmark with

Register for free content

The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.

BMJ Careers