Pentagon Looks to Crack Down on Tobacco Use

Tobacco use among U.S. troops should be forbidden and the sale of tobacco on military property banned, Pentagon health experts say.

They want Defense Secretary Robert Gates to adopt proposals from a federal Institute of Medicine study that calls for a phased-in ban over a number of years, perhaps as long as two decades, USA Today reported.

Tobacco use among U.S. troops is rising, leading to higher costs for the federal government, said the study, released late last month.

Tobacco-related costs for the Pentagon total $846 million a year in medical care and lost productivity, and the Department of Veterans Affairs spends up to $6 billion treating tobacco-related illnesses, according to the study, USA Today reported.

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