"They're going to die anyway": Smoking shelters at Veterans' facilities

N. Offen, E.A. Smith and R.E. Malone

American Journal of Public Health, 2013, vol. 103, issue 4, 604-612

Abstract: Military personnel and veterans are disadvantaged by inadequate tobacco control policies. We conducted a case study of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) effort to disallow smoking and tobacco sales in VA facilities. Despite strong VA support, the tobacco industry created a public relations-focused grassroots veterans' opposition group, eventually pushing the US Congress to pass a law requiring smoking areas in every VA health facility. Arguing that it would be unpatriotic to deny veterans this "freedom" they had ostensibly fought for and that banning smoking could even harm veterans' health, industry consultants exploited veterans' organizations to protect tobacco industry profits. Civilian public health advocates should collaborate with veterans to expose the industry's manipulation, reframe the debate, and repeal the law.

Keywords: article; commercial phenomena; government; government regulation; human; legal aspect; passive smoking; politics; public hospital; smoking; tobacco industry; United States; veteran, Commerce; Federal Government; Government Regulation; Hospitals, Veterans; Humans; Politics; Smoking; Tobacco Industry; Tobacco Smoke Pollution; United States; United States Government Agencies; Veterans (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2012.301022_7

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301022

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