European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 29, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday april 292007 stars and stripes pages air Force tobacco bans Are gaining steam by Kent Harris stars and stripes the us air Force faced with a goal of dramatically reducing to Bacco use by 2010 is getting set to implement its first widespread ban on such products the air Force Materiel com Mand will soon Start a three phase program that will eventually eliminate the use of tobacco products at its bases according to it col Sherry Sasser chief of health pro motions for the air Force surgeon generals office Sasser said thursday in a Tele phone interview mat the move which Doest have a specific Start Date yet was approved last week at a Community action information Board meeting the quarterly meetings Are held by the services to discuss issues and implement changes it boils Down to dollars it boils Down to resources said Why quit it is estimated that about 27 percent of airmen use tobacco products the services goal is to reduce that number to 12 percent within three years tobacco users statistically score lower on physical fitness tests taking 47 seconds longer on average to Complete 15mile run for smokers log twice As Many sick Days on average than nonsmokers the air Force Iscon Ernid that those going without while on deployments downrange Arent As focused on the tasks at hand Sasser citing statistics that the air Force loses More than Mil lion annually in productivity be cause of airmen who use tobacco products there is not one Posi Tive health Benefit from using to Bacco not one the plan by the afm has been months in the making she said the 31st medical group at Aviano air base implemented a ban on its airmen smoking in uniform in March and other bases have banned smoking in on base dorms but such moves have never been tried by a major command afm headquartered at Wrigh Patter son air Force base Ohio includes 10 bases in the states among them Are Edwards air Force Calif Kirkland air Force Basel no Robins air Force base a and Hill air Force base in Utah the first phase of the afm program Sasser said is Banning tobacco use by personnel in uni form bans in dorms and govern ment housing would follow with the final phase being the Elimina Tion of such products on base the plan Drew decidedly mixed reactions at Aviano on Friday that sucks said staff sol Joe Barnes with the 31st communications Squadron i smoke during the duty Day smoking is the Only Chance i get to go outside and take a break i think ifs great said tech sol William Bellick of the 31st maintenance operations squad Ron ifs a bad image i dont think ifs right said tech sol Kent Klotz from the 31st logistics operations squad Ron if s not an illegal substance so people should be allowed to use it f dont think people should be Al Lowed to smoke in government buildings but this is different ifs Good said senior airman Matt Marquardt also from the 31st los i dont smoke i think ifs stupid it impairs the Mission when people take 50 smoke Breaks a Day it should have been done 10 years ago Sasser estimated about 27 per cent of airmen use tobacco products the services goal is to re Duce that number to 12 percent within three years ultimately we would like to be smoke free she said she said there Are a variety of reins Dos the service wants jts personnel to quit lighting up or dip cigarette smoking statistics in the United states an estimated 251 million 234 percent of the total men 18 and older Are smokers of women 18 and older about 209 million 185 percent Are smokers the latest estimates for people age 18 and older show 9 among no hispanic Whites 241 percent of men and 204 percent of women smoke among no hispanic Blacks 239 percent of men and 172 percent of women smoke among hispanics 189 percent of men and 109 percent of women smoke among asians 178 percent of men and 48 percent of women smoke among american natives 373 percent of men and 285 percent of women smoke studies show that smoking prevalence is higher among those who had earned a ged diploma 396 percent and among those with 911 years of education 340 percent than among those with More than 16 years of education 80 its highest among people living below the poverty level 291 source National health interview Survey 2004 National Center for health statistics and a Albi stars and stripes Ping tobacco users statistically score lower on physical fitness tests taking 47 seconds longer on average to Complete the 15mile run for instance smokers log twice As Many sick Days on aver age than nonsmokers and theres concern that those going without while on deployments downrange Arent As focused on the tasks at hand Sasser said the most important reason though is the health of each airman in the service the service has heavily emphasized physical fitness and getting in shape in recent years she said and tobacco use int compatible with healthy living we cant turn a Blind Eye to this because we know ifs costing us she said email Kent Harris at s program is among the Best Aviano air base than three out of four people trying to give up tobacco products succeed in a Maseru program Here making it one of most successful in the air Force much of the credit for Vianos 78 percent Suc Cess rate is Given to senior airman Jennifer Mon Tiel who runs the program you have to be intuitive and motivated said la col Sherry Sasser chief of health promotion for the air Force surgeon generals office who has taught such programs for More than a decade Shes very motivated mainly ifs her enthusiasm for the class said Cape Mark Mcelroy commander of the bases health and wellness Cen Ter Montiel a combat medic who took up smok ing at age 11 before quit Ting a few years ago at the request of her Hus band attributes the pro Grams Success to one Central idea listen to the customer she said Early reviews of her class found Partick feared to other bases that s More than cessation managers Are required to do she also hands out her cellphone number and has answered Calls in the Middle of the night a time or two giving those tempted to Start again a reason not to she talks with class participants on a one none basis to try to find out what their triggers Are finding out what makes a person want to use tobacco and when they use it she said most users fall into very specific routines so substituting something else into that routine or changing the routine generally works her eight session classes last seven weeks giving participants a longer time to quit than the four week class the base used to use two of the sessions Are held in the fourth week when people Are required to Stop tech sol Roy Myers a class member will find himself in that position pants got Little or nothing from slide shows so Treyve been eliminated students said they did like sharing ideas and solutions with one another so group meetings Are a Central part everyone knows the dangers she said so she places Little emphasis on Thal were All adults she said we All know what to Bacco causes Montiel 22 is More than prepared to cite the prob lems tobacco causes if called upon though she can rattle off study after study and statistics galore to anyone willing to listen and listen they do Montiel said she attempts to Call every person who been enrolled in her classes at Aviano each month to Check in with them in some cases that includes those who have trans Kent and stripes senior airman Jennifer Montiel who runs the smoking cessation program at Aviano air base is Friendly with Piggy a character used to instruct kids about the dangers of tobacco use next week in doing Fine said Myers a Hackaday smoker for the past 20 years who is assigned to the 31st maintenance Squadron sometimes i get a bit Antsy but then i Chew a piece of gum Myers said he likes the information that Montiel has presented and talking to other people in his class you learn techniques from other people he said ifs a Good class id recommend it to anyone Montiel said the Best program in the world wont work if a person Doest want to Stop her Mother for instance Doest want to give up the habit she said so Shes not pushing the Issue unless of course mom decided to sign up for the class Kent Harris