US Navy to Ban Smoking on Submarines

(April 6) -- One of the most significant changes for the U.S. Navy this decade -- the introduction of women on submarines -- may be overshadowed by a new policy that would ban all smoking aboard subs.

"We're going to stop smoking on submarines," Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead said, according to the Navy Times.

Jim Brennan, AFP / Getty Images

The U.S. Navy has decided to allow women to serve on submarines -- but smoking is now banned.

Roughead reportedly discussed the reasons behind the ban at a recent gathering at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga.

The smoking ban follows closely the Pentagon's decision to lift the long-standing ban on women serving on submarines, where limited space had been used as arguments in the past for maintaining an all-male crew.

Those same close quarters are now feeding into the thinking behind the smoking ban. The proposed ban appears to be in part a reaction to a not-yet-released study on the health effects of second-hand smoke on submarines.

The smoking ban is hardly a complete surprise. Smoking bans have already been extended in many states to restaurants, workplaces and public buildings. The Defense Department has also considered limiting tobacco use.

A 2009 report on smoking among members of the military advocated for the Defense Department to set a timeline for being tobacco-free. Currently, about a third of active-duty military members smoke.

"That will be a real testy sub when it gets underway," military newspaper Stars & Stripes quoted one submariner about the prospects of a ban. "As a non-smoker, I think it's good, but a ban will just push smokers to use a different form of tobacco."