By I just find it amazing that out of all the dangers facing deployed US troops some members of the US Congress seem more concerned about stopping them from smoking a cigarette than helping them win the war. This story just goes to show why we need veterans serving in Congress:
A Marine veteran in Congress wants to lift new restrictions on tobacco being sent through the mail so that families and friends can continue to send cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to troops in combat.
Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Calif., a member of the House Armed Services Committee and a former Marine captain who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, wants to create a combat zone loophole in a new law that is aimed at cracking down on illegal tobacco marketing via mail.
Effective June 17, tobacco products can be sent to APO and FPO address only by Express Mail from the U.S. Postal Service in packages of 10 ounces or less, with a maximum of 10 shipments to a single person in a 30-day period.
Express Mail isn’t available to most troops deployed in combat zones, so the effect of the law — the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act or PACT Act — has been to cut off tobacco shipments from home. The PACT Act was signed into law in March but the U.S. Postal Service did not get around to announcing the mailing restrictions until June.
Hunter’s legislation, HR 6037, would allow tobacco products to be mailed to members of the armed forces in a combat zone. The bill also would waive restrictions on the size and number of packages that could be sent to troops in designated combat zones. [Army Times]
Read the rest at the link.
7:26 pm on August 4th, 2010 1
Seems to me the restriction is not about limiting the troops access to tobacco products. What? AAFES doesn't have full stocks?
It says it is intended to prevent a pipeline for blackmarketing. That sounds reasonable.
8:59 pm on August 4th, 2010 2
If they outlaw tobacco in the mail then no one will smoke. If they outlaw toilet paper then no one will have to go to the bathroom. Same logic.
4:59 am on August 5th, 2010 3
Well, kids really do need close adult supervision….
10:36 am on August 5th, 2010 4
"If they outlaw tobacco in the mail then no one will smoke. If they outlaw toilet paper then no one will have to go to the bathroom. Same logic."
Apples and oranges. Ever quit going to the washroom cold turkey for a month or two?
11:00 am on August 5th, 2010 5
I'm hope they outlaw tobacco.
It will be yet another triumph in a long series of stunning victories…
…the War on Alcohol… the War on Drugs… the War on Terror… etc.
2:10 pm on August 5th, 2010 6
#5,
It wouldn't be a bad idea to ban smoking in the military, especially when out in the field. I know of one soldier who, while wearing body armor, was shot in the armpit by a sniper as he was reaching for a pack of cigarette.
4:01 pm on August 5th, 2010 7
and besides, smoking causes global warming…
11:05 pm on August 5th, 2010 8
#6 Too funny teadrinker. Only a Liberal from Canada would come to that conclusion. He raised his arm and exposed the ONLY area of weakness. "But it is the tobacco"s fault!"
11:26 pm on August 5th, 2010 9
#6– Where were you when you witnessed that?
12:18 am on August 6th, 2010 10
Remember the iconic photo of the Marine in Iraq that came to be known as Marlboro Man and got national publication? His smoking habit is least of his problems.
3:15 am on August 6th, 2010 11
#10 "iconic photo"? That was the first time I saw it. Not very "iconic". But then again, I was a bit busy in 2004 and didn't get much of the MSM coverage of the war untill I left Iraq in 2005. So maybe I missed it.
So I gather that you support smoking?
addition: The one who leaves for war is seldom the one who returns—but sometimes. It is far from a hopeless situation! As many would have civilians believe. I enjoy my alone time. My whiskey. My copenhagen tobacco. Football.
I tip my hat to the infantry and Marine ground pounders (only the one's that have seen action). Be drinking with one or two old Marines next month in Angeles city. After 20 years, Bosnia Honduras and Iraq, I find it difficult (not impossible) to talk with civilins — and officers.
Fags are no problem. I just tell them to STFU.
Women in the (PI)clubs are easy to talk with. You talk, they smile. You ask if they understand. They smile and say no. You smile and talk some more. At LEAST they smile alot.
3:35 am on August 6th, 2010 12
THE FIGHTING SIXTY NINTH (Rainbow)
Gentle when stroked Fierce when provoked
1st Battalion 69th Infantry
I remember you guys. And the road that was ruled Black, but convoyed anyway. And the result.
Some of you were in my Guard mount. Thanks for the coin.