The ‘Defence Smoke-Free Working Environment’ directive is designed to support the Government’s aim to reduce the percentage of UK adults who smoke from 15.5 per cent to 12 per cent or less.
The Army say here that smoking has been part of Army culture since smoking cigarettes first became popular in the 1950s.
“The unhealthy addiction is one of the leading causes of premature death with 200 people dying each day from smoking in England. However, the culture is changing and today’s soldiers are more conscious about the affects smoking has on their health. Launched to coincide with Stoptober (it’s the tenth year Stoptober has run during the month of October), Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has directed the policy to help smokers give up and to prevent non-smokers from taking up the habit.”
Vaping will still be allowed in designated areas.
Support to help stop smoking (the below info is via the British Army website)
NHS stop smoking service is available across the whole of the UK, including online advice, emergency phone number for local stop smoking service and advice on nicotine replacement products provided on the NHS.
- Smokefree National Helpline 0300 123 1044 [England]
- Want2Stop Northern Ireland
- Quit Your Way Scotland
- NHS Wales Stop Smoking
- Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
- NHS Quit Smoking
The definition of the smoke-free policy is:
“Prohibition of the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) within the perimeter of a Defence site and/or near to site entrances. The policy is Whole Force and includes anyone on site (including contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel) all hours and all days.”
Contractors, visitors and all other non-defence personnel must also abide by the new rules.
Haven’t the RN just achieved smoke free status? Standfast those sneaking behind the bike sheds or on the upper deck…
OK but anyone considered the amount spent on Smoking sheds installed @ every MOD base, i know in a 4 year period I procured 10 smoking gazebos on one base @ a cost of £2k each. as a shed wasn’t seen as an option. im sure there will all be removed and in someones back garden very soon.
My last camp spent a disgusting amount of money building a so called smoking shed next to the 25 metre range , It was also supposed to be used in which to allow dry weapons training . But funny enough it has seen much more use as a covered golf driving range , which I have to admit, it looks a lot like. funny that.
oh yes the Smoking Shacks around the officer’s mess were to say exotic and remember refurbing a 25m range @ base completely and it was back in action 3 days before the C/O Booked it for a weekend party and they blew the shit out of it, he was requested to hand in his handgun, and if needed to kill anyone drive a truck, as he couldn’t hit shit with his service revolver.
I’d be interested in the age profile of those in the series who do smoke.
Oddly I have seen more girls in their 20’s smoking recently than guys. I almost never see anyone in their 30’s smoking. Hope it is not becoming a thing again.
Personally I was delighted when pubs banned indoor smoking. Stopped having to wash my sweaters after one night out.
you wore “sweaters” in a pub?
Ha, ha
Maybe on a cold night – the one we used to go to had it’s heating derived from an open fire. Roasted close to it and froze the other side of the bar…..
I think the point is to get to a state where you just don’t care as quickly as possible.
In my experience with the RN it tended to be younger ones that smoked and it trialled off as people got older and got more responsibility at work and in their personal life. As you get older the indestructible gene disappears and reality sets in. People quit smoking, don’t party as hard and start doing Fiz a lot more. You still got older tabbers but at least they tended to do fiz and didn’t smoke packets a day. During RN fitness tests it was shocking that us (at the time)40-50+ age group Senior Rates where doing level 9+ in a… Read more »
Of course when the army is actually doing its real job of fighting, heavy smoking and religious faith will make rapid comebacks!
Yeah I was wondering about that. Definitely the religiousness seems plausible but more thinking of smoking. Like just imagine. Your a combat driver, a county regiment soldier, a helicopter crewman – in a scary job. A large group of people, even if they knew the health effects might want a ciggy.
Surely the army have no right to tell their employees if they can smoke or not. For an organisation that continuously complains of a lack of recruitment it seems counter productive that they treat their soldiers, men and women who are not only expected to fight and kill but also operate large and expensive equipment, like a bunch of secondary school children.
That’s the difference between Service men and women and civilians. Subject to Queens regs as well as civilian law.
Well I think all you’re going to get from this is some very angry squdies and rock bottom moral.
For a soldier – Smoking damages both their pulmonary and cardiovascular systems, thereby reducing their combat effectiveness. So I see it as a completely pragmatic move.
Yes but it’s also a marol booster, a form of quick energy when in the field and at difficult times it can act as a badge for mental health issues. Also doesn’t negate the fact soldiers aren’t children and shouldn’t be trained as such. Although I will point out I am neither a smoker or supporter of it. I think it’s a disgusting habit and would love to see it band by law. I just don’t think the army should be treating their personal in such a way.
I wonder what military smokers will do now. Go out of barracks and smoke in their car or in a street. That would not look good in uniform!
By that logic the Army has no right to tell soldiers if they can drink on the job or not.
Or whether or not they can take dietary supplements.
Or whether they can have their hair beyond their ears.
There’s a lot of things Soldiers can’t do that some civies can.
Drinking is A already well established and B can be covered under helth and safety policies. Same with hair. However, smoking is well established in the army and there is no immediate helth and safety concerns regarding it when smoked in designated areas. Also will this extend to ones living quarters? Can a soldier smoke in his own families garden, or while relaxing at the NAAFI? Of course the army can ban it, as they have, but it still doesn’t negate the fact that they shouldn’t treat their personal like children.
You’re not allowed to drink in work either. That’s the point. There’s plenty of things that the Army regulates, and as for “already well established” with regards to regulations: It wasn’t always thus, and one day someone will be saying “But regulating smoking is already established.” Your argument is akin to Yes Ministers “Many things must be done but nothing must be done for the first time.” Sorry you don’t like the fact that an army is trying to keep it’s fighting force healthy and fit. Maybe you think it should stop treating them like children and forcing them to… Read more »
As a non smoking soldier who spent a long time in the back of a 432/4 in a blue fug of cigarette smoke I applaud this move.
Never smoked, and I hated walking around the block on a morning picking up other peoples fag ends as a young sapper
As an apprentice and even as a younger soldier I always refused to pick fag ends up😤, always in trouble!
I refuse to do this.
I’ve had a CSgt tell me that “it’s your camp too, you need to maintain it.” yeah, no thanks. If smokers want to make a mess of it they can clean it up.
Morning Dern. My experience was slightly different . During my brief stint in the infantry, we used to do “chicken parade “on a Saturday. Essentially picking up cigg butts. If you refused, the Sgt/Corp made you stand still whilst he gave your platoon an impromptu PT session.
Sounds like a good way to teach the rest of your platoon to pick up their fag butts then.
Mate , I couldn’t agree more! The instructor and junior leaders were the worst, dumping cigg butts all over the place. Still, a long time, different values then I guess – everyone in the army smoked seemed to smoke back then
Try living in a 30-40 man messdeck for 6 months with the smokers. Everything stank of smoke. you, your kit, stuff in your locker.The bulkheads and deckheads where yellow with nicotine…
Best thing that happened was banning it down the messes and its even better now its banned onboard.
Just dont ban booze! that would be the end of things !
As a REME fitter, not a lot happened to your tank, APC, gun or Landy unless a “Yellow handbag” (Herforder Pilsner) or similar was in the vicinity, especially of the Subaltern commanding the tank had bogged it in! 🙂
This is the thing though: Booze is off limits during army working hours.
I saw so many people going “they’re going for alcohol next” when this is basically smoking catching up with alcohol’s restrictions.
At least you can’t ruin your career atm for showing up with “smoke on your breath”
my nephew in the mounted regiment is ahead of the curve. he recently stopped smoking and drinking.
Quitting smoking ok, but not having a drink! That’s drastic😀
the only trouble is as my old schoolmaster used to encourage us to smoke as it meant the treasury got more in Taxes, as the tax funds more than it spends where will that short fall come from.
The tax take from cigarettes has been falling fast for years so the main hit on revenue has passed. This will likely be a marginal reduction. Us non smokers have already picked up the generally increased health costs of those who smoked.
Yes Prime Minister on smoking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJIMffhpZRw
Social &/or Health pronouncements seem quite a forte of the Army lately, judging by articles on Wavell Room at least. Seems to have culminated in being sent in to sort out NHS management. Excellent news! considering what a wonderful job the GS have made of managing procurement over the last couple of decades?
Good to see the Army addressing some of it’s problems. I’d recommend not reading this article just after following Francis Tusa’s Twitter feed on what’s going on in the British Army. And apparently we might be getting another Army type as head of the armed forces. Imagine a dozen or so lines of expletives below.
Not another one…. CDS position should rotate between them.
It used to rotate – the term was ‘Buggins turn’. Now it is the best man for the job – supposedly.
“Since smoking cigarettes first became popular in the 1950s”?
Um, no. Cigarettes, as a means of getting tobacco to the troops which was easier to handle and transport than loose tobacco for pipes, date back to WW1.
You only need to look at pictures from the inter-war years and WW2 to see that a majority of people smoked, and were smoking cigarettes.
The NHS has band smoking on its sites years ago including the entrances and any random NHS signs that staff would smoke under.
Many trusts also ban smoking while in uniform or wearing nhs ID.
from what I’ve read they are not banning people from smoking, just on bases etc.
“…if you ain’t got a lucifer to light your fag…” was a line from the Great War song ” Pack Up Your Troubles.” Smoking was part of army culture far earlier than the 1950s: more like the 1850s. I find it quite disturbing that anyone in the military, could be so ignorant of army tradition. Of course it might be April 1st….
In WW1 to relieve the stresses and strains of trench warfare a soldier might have a smoke or a drink or pop out when permitted to a local bar or brothel, none of which now seem to be available. What would the modern soldier do now to unburden and de-stress when in the combat zone, or do we just accept increased mental stress and try to deal with it later by way of end of tour decompression and PTSD counselling?
One more device mechanism to control purity and conformity, also increasing the already vast Army bureaucracy power at expense of its combatants.
Hopefully vape chargers will be fitted as standard in a vehicles and the ability to charge them of any battery pack soldiers carry these days
any old usb socket is all thats required!
Doesn’t AJAX have USB?……………………………………………Wait for it!
It’ll be clacky bars and crisps next. Mark my words.
You mean they might provide healthy food at the NAAFI and Scoff house:
:O
OH NO! THE END OF THE WORLD! Imagine not undermining PT with shit nutrition!
I can look after my own nutritional needs thank you very much, that’s my responsibility not yours. If I can run the distance while carrying my share, that’s all that should concern the bureaucrats. And me choosing my own food, is part of what enables me to “run the distance”.
Imagine not killing moral with unnecessary BS regulation.
I’m a bit late to the party but as a non smoker I find it drastic to ban it totally. There are rules for where you definitely CAN’T smoke and I’m fine with that but for guys who effectively live on the base, nah, let the poor buggers trudge off to their smoking areas.
Its another one of those things that will piss some people off and if they’re already on the fence about staying in, its yet another ‘niggle’ about being in the Forces.