Starting to smoke in the Navy: when, where and why

Smoking rates among U.S. military men are much higher than those in the general population. A previous study compared the smoking rates of male recruits coming into the Navy with those of a shipboard sample to find out whether the Navy was attracting or creating smokers. Twenty-eight percent of the incoming recruits were smokers, whereas 50% of the shipboard men were smokers. These findings suggested that the Navy environment somehow encouraged smoking. The present study followed a group of male recruits for one year after they entered the Navy to determine when, where, and why they started smoking during their first year in the service. Two hundred and sixty-two of the original 682 participants returned the one-year follow-up information. Twenty-eight percent of the sample were self-reported smokers upon entry into the Navy. One year later 41% classified themselves as smokers. Of those who started smoking (either for the first time or again after having quit) during their first year, 42% started within their first two months of service (i.e. during recruit training), and another 32% started during their third month in the Navy. In addition to the 42% who started during recruit training, 39% started while attending training school, and 15% started while stationed aboard a ship during their first year in the Navy. The most frequently cited reasons for starting to smoke were: curiosity, friends smoking, calming effect, and wanted to be 'cool'. Because many individuals begin smoking soon after joining the Navy, effective prevention programs need to be implemented in recruit training and repeated in early training schools.