Washington, DC - The American Heart Association released the following statement in support of efforts by the surgeons general of the Air Force, Army, Navy and United States to prevent tobacco use among members of the military. In an open letter to all servicemembers published today in Stars and Stripes, the surgeons warned about the threat posed by tobacco use on military readiness.
“The American Heart Association agrees with the U.S. Surgeon General and the Service Surgeons General that tobacco use is a major problem resulting in poorer heart health among servicemembers and contributing to the public health crisis of tobacco use nationwide. Our ultimate goal is to end to all tobacco and nicotine addiction in the US while first minimizing the use of all combustible tobacco products, such as traditional cigarettes and cigars, and ensuring e-cigarettes and other newer products do not addict a new generation to nicotine. We call this the “tobacco endgame,” and we are working with officials at all levels of government to achieve it. We look forward to continuing our work with the Uniformed Service to implement strong tobacco-control and prevention policies that ultimately will eliminate death and disease from tobacco use.”