Duncan Hunter also sponsored an amendment to stop the DOD from prohibiting sales of tobacco on bases and ships.
Democrats on the committee objected to Hunter’s proposal.
Rep. Susan Davis (D., Calif.) said promoting health is just as important as military readiness, and that the Pentagon’s
proposal is not telling military men and women “they can’t use tobacco.”
“I think we need to look at smoking cessation programs, we need to look at what’s out there now, and try and improve on those,” she said. “This is not telling people that they can’t use tobacco, clearly people can go across the street almost wherever they are and purchase that. But we are sending a kind of double message, I think, by not saying that we recognize tobacco can cause damage, not only to a sailor, but also to their family, second hand smoke we know is a concern.”
Hunter, who served three combat tours, two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, said his fellow Marines deserve the right to buy cigarettes and take them to the battlefield.
“As somebody who used the exchanges and lived on base for a number of years at Camp Pendleton, we do use the exchanges almost purely for beer and tobacco,” he said. “The young Marines that go to war and fight for everybody in this room, they use those exchanges purely for tobacco, and some beer, sometimes water and Gatorades, little snacks to take to the field.”
“We sleep in the dirt for this country. We get shot at for this country. But we can’t have a cigarette if we want to for this country, because that’s unhealthy??” Hunter said.
“Well, I’ll tell you what. If you want to make us all healthy, then let’s outlaw war, because war is really dangerous,” Hunter added. “And it was bad for my health, and it’s bad for other people’s health. So if you truly want to make it so we’re all healthy, then we shouldn’t have a military at all, because that in and of itself is dangerous.”
The committee adopted Hunter’s amendment by a voice vote.
House Adopts Amendment to Protect Service Members’ Right to Tobacco
