Navy Considers Tobacco Sales Ban

The move would eliminate the sale of tobacco on all Naval ships and bases.

March 26, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Navy will likely ban tobacco sales on all of its ships and bases, the Navy Times reports. Officials indicated that the prohibition would extend to all sales venues, including exchange-operated retail locations and MWR-operated retail outlets. Currently, Naval commissaries do not stock tobacco products of any kind.

A Navy spokeswoman did confirm that senior officers were discussing the issue, but no decision has yet to be made. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus “has implemented a number of initiatives to improve the culture of fitness in the Navy and Marine Corps, and curbing tobacco use is part of that improvement,” said spokeswoman Commander Tamara Lawrence. She said that the secretary “has asked his staff to look at additional ways to improve the health and readiness of our force. We are in the early stages of that process.”

“Tobacco use is the most avoidable public health hazard in the Navy and Marine Corps,” wrote Mabus in a 2012 memo that eliminated discount tobacco products at Marine Corps and Navy exchanges.

Some predict that if the Navy bans tobacco sales on its bases and ships, other military branches may soon follow suit. In February, CVS Caremark announced its intention to stop selling tobacco products at U.S. locations in the fall. A few weeks ago, two state attorneys general asked other retailers to follow CVS’s lead and ban tobacco sales.

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