By October 2022, many veterans would need to curb their smoking habit if proposed legislation becomes law.
Lawmakers are looking to end tobacco use among not only troops, but also veterans.
According to an article in the Military Times, lawmakers from both parties this week looked to limit tobacco use at Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities.
Members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee debated legislation sponsored by Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), an Iraq War veteran and surgeon, that would prohibit smoking indoors at any VA health facility, and ban all outdoor smoking on VA medical center grounds by October 2022, according to the Military Times. VA officials back the effort.
A department study finds 38% of smokers in the military picked up the habit after they enlisted, although Defense Department research shows tobacco use has declined since the 1980s when close to half the military smoked.