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Introduction: Higher tobacco taxes reduce tobacco use. On military installations, cigarettes and other tobacco products are sold tax-free, keeping prices artificially low. Pricing regulations in the military specify that tobacco should be within 5% of the local most competitive price, but prices still average almost 13% lower than those at local Walmarts.Methods: To gain insight into policy leaders' ideas and positions on military tobacco pricing, we interviewed members of the Department of Defense (DoD) Addictive Substances Misuse Advisory Committee and the Advisory Committee on Tobacco about tobacco pricing policies (n = 12).Results: Participants frequently lacked specific knowledge of details of military pricing policy, and the impact higher prices might have on military tobacco use. Most participants thought tobacco should not be sold at military stores, but many also felt that this policy change was unlikely due to tobacco industry pressure, and DoD reliance on tobacco profits to support Morale, Welfare, and Recreation funds.Conclusions: Achieving a tobacco-free military will require changing pricing policy, but this study suggests that for effective implementation, military leadership must also understand and articulate more clearly the rationale for doing so.Implications: Previous work has found that adherence to military tobacco pricing policy is inconsistent at best. This study suggests that lack of knowledge about the policy and conflicting pressures resulting from the funding stream tobacco sales represent extend to high level military policy leaders. Without clearer information and direction, these leaders are unlikely to be able to establish and implement better tobacco pricing policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This study provides a comprehensive, population-based examination of tobacco use among both career and volunteer firefighters. Methods Data are from a population-based cohort study of randomly selected career (N = 11) and volunteer (N = 13) departments comprised of 677 male firefighters. Results Unadjusted rates of smoking were 13.6% and 17.4% for career and volunteer firefighters, respectively. Smoking rates were less than a comparable occupational group (military personnel) and adult males in the states represented. Smokers were more likely to have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder (OR = 5.8; P = 0.010), have an elevated CAGE alcohol problem score (OR = 2.9; P = 0.040), and more likely to report driving after drinking too much (OR = 4.5; P = 0.020) compared to never-smokers. Large percentages of career (18.4%) and volunteer (16.8%) firefighters used smokeless tobacco. Conclusions Smokin g among firefighters is associated with other significant health and safety risks. High rates of smokeless tobacco use suggest that the fire service is an important target for intervention. Thus, despite strong statements against smoking by the fire service, the need to maintain high levels of health and fitness and relatively low smoking rates, a significant proportion of firefighters continue to use tobacco products. Am. J. Ind. Med. 54:697-706, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]