Smoke 'Em If You've Got 'Em

According to some Defense Department officials, the stress of war has driven some military service members to take up smoking. An estimated 34 percent of service members smoke, compared to the 25 percent national average, DoD reports. Smoking has actually increased in the military by 4 percent since 2002, and "it's a good suspicion" that the war on terror is to blame, says Col. Gerald Wayne Talcott of the Air Force Medical Support Agency. One other possible reason: cigarettes are cheaper in the military. To deal with that issue, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service has been ordered to restrict discounting of tobacco products to no more than 5 percent below what they would cost in the outside world.