Gates won’t ban tobacco on front lines

Gates won’t ban tobacco on front lines

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jul 15, 2009 18:00:32 EDT

Smokers on the front lines need not fear any effort to ban the habit — as long as Defense Secretary Robert Gates is on the job.

A recent report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, called for eliminating tobacco sales at all military installations and setting a “specific, mandatory date by which the military will be tobacco-free.”

But while Gates “shares [the report authors’] concern about the health and well-being of the force,” Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters Wednesday, “you should not expect him to take any action which would restrict the use of tobacco products by … our service members in conflict zones.”
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Gates will not ban tobacco on front lines