Smoking to be banned on Navy submarines
Former smokers, clockwise from left, Chief Petty Officer Jeff Bortzfield, Petty Officer 2nd Class Nicky Bates and Petty Officer 2nd Class Jarrod Gibbons attend a workshop on how to assist current smokers in kicking the habit at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in Saint Marys, Georgia, on April 22, 2010. Credit: AP
KINGS BAY NAVAL SUBMARINE BASE, Ga. - Thousands of sailors who spend weeks underwater on Navy submarines will have to quit smoking now that the military plans to ban the habit on all subs.
The prohibition kicks in Dec. 31. Because submarine sailors spend up to 90 days at sea, the change means they will have to kick the habit. The Navy estimates 5,200 sailors smoke aboard subs - from a pack a day to the occasional cigar.
The military banned most indoor smoking in 1994. Submarines were exempted because sailors serve long tours underwater with few creature comforts.
At Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base on the Georgia coast, sailors are being trained as mentors to lead smoking cessation classes with their crews and medical officers are ordering nicotine gum and patches in bulk.
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