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Military Anti-Tobacco Initiatives Recognized at White House Ceremony

  • Published
  • By Erika Christ
  • Health.mil
FALLS CHURCH, Va., --  Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, joined Acting Surgeon General Boris Lushniak at the White House on Jan. 17 to mark the release of the Surgeon General's new report on smoking and to recognize the Department of Defense and other federal agencies for their work in reducing tobacco use. The military's top doctor, Jonathan Woodson, was among those at the event.

The Surgeon General's newly published report,"The Health Consequences of Smoking -- 50 Years of Progress," highlights half a century of advances in tobacco prevention, presents new data on the health consequences of its use, and introduces initiatives that can potentially end our nation's tobacco use epidemic.

The report's findings show that there is still work to do. Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death, and cigarette smoking still kills nearly half a million Americans a year. Unless current smoking rates drop, 5.6 million American children alive today will die prematurely from smoking-related diseases.

As part of the National Prevention Council, which is chaired by the Surgeon General, the DOD is working together with other federal agencies, departments and offices to help Americans become healthier. Council members are committed to addressing smoking and tobacco use as part of their work to increase the number of Americans who are healthy at every stage of life. In June 2011, the council released theNational Prevention Strategy, which lays out how we can move the nation to a focus on disease prevention and wellness, and create better health for all.

Below are some examples of how the DOD has helped reduce tobacco use within the military community:

· DOD established a smoking cessation program under the TRICARE health program, making smoking cessation pharmaceuticals readily available to beneficiaries.
· The Secretary of the Navy implemented an initiative to bring tobacco prices at Navy & Marine Corps Exchanges up to market price.
· The Air Force prohibits tobacco use on Air Force installations, except in designated tobacco areas and housing units.
· The Army Surgeon General and the Military Medicine Chiefs have announced their intent to make Military Treatment Facilities tobacco-free zones.
· Operation Live Well is implementing innovative tobacco initiatives, competitions, counter marketing and strategic education and communication plans to assist DOD installations in implementing tobacco-free living campaigns.
· The Quit Tobacco - Make Everyone Proud website -- UCanQuit2.org -- has been named one of "The Best Quit Smoking Blogs of 2013" by Healthline. The site's resources include a savings calculator, personalized plans for quitting tobacco and live chats available at any time.