Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus wants to ban tobacco sales on U.S. Navy ships, and at retail stores on Navy and Marine Corps bases. The Navy Department, which includes the Marine Corps, would be the first military branch to prohibit tobacco sales.NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. – Tobacco sales on Navy ships and in stores on Navy and Marine Corps bases would be a thing of the past under a plan being considered by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, but some congressional members are pushing back.
The Navy Department, which includes the Marine Corps, would be the first military department to prohibit tobacco sales.
“We know tobacco hurts you. We know tobacco kills you. We know it makes you less fit, and one of our big initiatives is to have sailors that are fit and resilient,” Mabus said in an interview during a visit to Rhode Island this week. “And so the whole idea is that we want to encourage sailors who smoke to quit.”
Congress is considering a measure that would prevent Mabus from instituting a sales ban, with the prohibition’s opponents arguing it overreaches on a habit that is unhealthy but still legal.
Tobacco use costs the Defense Department an estimated $1.6 billion annually in medical costs and lost work time, said spokeswoman Joy Crabaugh.