Don't Smoke 'em Even if You Got 'em

The old admonition of "smoke 'em if you got 'em" that you hear in old war movies may soon be a thing of the past if the nanny staters get their way in banning all tobacco use in the military. Jules Crittendon has some thoughts:

“War is redneck as hell,” as Sgt. Howison said one hot morning in Baghdad. Lots of big vehicles, lots of blowing shit up, and with all that lead and high explosive flying around the place, lots of smoking and dipping. Yeah, smoking’s really bad for you, but …

USAToday reports that Pentagon health experts … sounds like a textbook definition of REMFs … want Gates to ban tobacco use. Via HotAir, where Ed Morrissey has a poll and suggests just ending the military tobacco subsidies. Heck, I say put those little four-packs in the MREs, just like they used to have in C-rations. I always thought the amazing part was that anyone was able to remain a non-smoker while everyone was almost getting his head blown off on a daily basis.

They should probably look at a ban on bullets, too. Those things are dangerous. Lugging around heavy packs and guns and sleeping all scrunched up in a track or a hole in the ground can really do a number on your back. I’d also like to point out that all that diesel exhaust is bad for the environment. High explosives have a really big carbon footprint, and can also cause hearing damage.

I'll believe the government is serious about stopping health problems related to tobacco when they quit piling new taxes on it and ban it altogether.