Stars and Stripes ran a piece over the weekend that is worth a look.
The story draws on a 2005 study that shows soldiers with nicotine addiction are twice as likely to be affected by post-traumatic stress disorder. The study is far from conclusive and suggested further study.
The piece points out why this is such an issue:
A recent Army analysis of 2006 to 2007 tobacco cessation medication prescriptions at Camp Cropper, Iraq, showed lackluster results for troops who received medication or nicotine patches and completed surveys on the project.
Some participants asked for nicotine patches not because they intended to quit smoking but because they wanted nicotine coverage during the long R&R and redeployment flights, according to the Army memo dated June 4, 2008.
"Although only a handful of the participants in our feasibility assessment stated they had completely quit using tobacco products (10 percent), those who did not stop altogether (49 percent) had cut down the amount of tobacco they used," according to the memo. "Dipping or smokeless tobacco use was the most recalcitrant to change, and indeed one additional person started dipping during the period assessed."
I served in Vietnam. The men who were disabled by...
