Smoke or don't: it's your choice

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jacob Morgan
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Some readers might think this is going to be a story on how people are 13 to 23 times more likely to develop lung cancer if they smoke cigarettes. Or how smoking causes coronary heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States.

The truth about smoking and chewing is... it's a choice. Servicemembers, as of now, still have the right to smoke a cigarette or chew tobacco, in designated areas of course.

The Air Force has set guidelines and parameters in the workplace as to where smoking is appropriate, designated tobacco use areas, however, there are no guidelines that say members cannot smoke when off-duty.

If members want to quit using tobacco products, there are programs at the Dover AFB Health and Wellness Center to help.

"The HAWC is here to help when someone makes the choice to reach out to us," said Nancy Zabaga, Dover Air Force Base, Del., HAWC health education program manager.

The full-time programs include one-on-one counseling, telephone counseling with a health care professional and classes held each month on the first Thursday.

Ms. Zabaga said learning about quitting tobacco is not a "six-step process". The process is what the individual makes it. It can be as easy as a phone call and a referral. This message is being put out across the base in the next few months in the form of new initiatives.

These new initiatives include:

- When you visit the Dover AFB Fitness Center, you'll now be entering a smoke-free fitness campus. From the parking to the entire campus the fitness center sits on, there will be no smoking allowed. "As stewards of healthy living, we have a responsibility to our fitness center patrons to provide a safe and healthy environment," said Maj. Thomas Abell, 436th Force Support Squadron commander. "This smoke-free fitness campus is a significant step in providing a safe and healthy environment and promoting the Fit to Fight culture."

- 100% Tobacco Free Sports, a local tobacco prevention program, is hosting a five-on-five Tobacco-Free Road Basketball Tournament at the Fitness Center May 14 in conjunction with the new efforts to get the message out, said Ms. Zabaga. This project is funded by the Delaware Division of Public Health's Tobacco Prevention Community Contract, funded by Delaware Health Fund, and managed by the American Lung Association of Delaware.

- Ms. Zabaga will be stopping by smoke pits around Dover AFB to promote knowledge of programs the HAWC provides. On the visits, Ms. Zabaga will bring stress balls, gum and yo-yos.

"Ultimately it's your health," said Ms. Zabaga. "All the events and information don't matter if you don't want to be healthy."