Some good news and bad news for those who put their lives on the line while defending this great nation.
A new bill which is expected to pass Congress before Christmas is expected to raise prices on Military bases. The 2015 National Defense Authorization Act will change how tobacco is priced. Currently, the military is allowed to discount tobacco at 5% of the local price. The new bill will prohibit that discount which in some cases has been as high as 17%
In 2012 military store tobacco sales brought in 125.7 million dollars in profits.
The good news about the new bill is that it contains a provision that blocks the Defense Department from any new measures banning the sale of tobacco on military installations or ships. The current ban of smoking on submarines will remain in effect.
As reported in August on The Cigar Authority there was talk of banning tobacco sales in the military. The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs wrote at the time, “prominence of tobacco products in (military) retail outlets, and permission for smoking breaks while on duty, sustain the perception that we are not serious about reducing the use of tobacco.” The bill expected to be passed states that military officials “may not take any action to implement any new policy that would ban the sale of any … tobacco product,”.
