Skip to main content
PMC home page
Public Health Reports logoLink to Public Health Reports
. 1997 May-Jun;112(3):212–218.

Comparing the smoking behavior of veterans and nonveterans.

W P McKinney 1, D D McIntire 1, T J Carmody 1, A Joseph 1
PMCID: PMC1381994  PMID: 9160055

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The authors analyzed self-reported questionnaire data from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) to determine the smoking patterns of veterans. METHODS: Using NMES data, the authors compared veterans versus nonveterans overall, women veterans versus women nonveterans, Vietnam-era veterans versus other veterans, and veterans whose usual source of medical care was the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) system versus veterans who received care elsewhere. RESULTS: The likelihood of ever having smoked cigarettes was higher for veterans than for nonveterans and for women veterans than for women nonveterans. The prevalence of current smoking was higher for veterans than for nonveterans and higher for those seeking care within the VA system than for other veterans. CONCLUSIONS: Given the enormous health care costs associated with smoking, health promotion efforts should be developed to reduce the high rate of smoking among veterans--especially those who are consumers of VA health care.

Full text

PDF

Images in this article

213p213-a
on p.213

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Blair A., Walrath J., Rogot E. Mortality patterns among U.S. veterans by occupation. I. Cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1985 Dec;75(6):1039–1047. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Blake G. H. Smoking and the military. N Y State J Med. 1985 Jul;85(7):354–356. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bray R. M., Marsden M. E., Peterson M. R. Standardized comparisons of the use of alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes among military personnel and civilians. Am J Public Health. 1991 Jul;81(7):865–869. doi: 10.2105/ajph.81.7.865. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cronan T. A., Conway T. L. Is the Navy attracting or creating smokers? Mil Med. 1988 Apr;153(4):175–178. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dawley H. H., Jr, Butler B. An 8-year comparison of hospitalized veterans' attitudes toward smoking and smoking cessation. Int J Addict. 1987 Aug;22(8):785–790. doi: 10.3109/10826088709027458. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dawley H. H., Jr, Williams J. L., Dawley L. T., Fleischer B. A 12-year comparison of hospitalized veterans' attitudes toward smoking and smoking cessation. Int J Addict. 1989 Oct;24(10):941–949. doi: 10.3109/10826088909047321. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Feigelman W. Cigarette smoking among former military service personnel: a neglected social issue. Prev Med. 1994 Mar;23(2):235–241. doi: 10.1006/pmed.1994.1032. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gronvall J. A. Medical care of low-income veterans in the VA health care system. Health Aff (Millwood) 1987 Spring;6(1):167–175. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.6.1.167. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hagey A. Implementation of a smoking policy in the United States Army. N Y State J Med. 1989 Jan;89(1):42–44. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Harris R. E., Hebert J. R., Wynder E. L. Cancer risk in male veterans utilizing the Veterans Administration medical system. Cancer. 1989 Sep 1;64(5):1160–1168. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19890901)64:5<1160::aid-cncr2820640533>3.0.co;2-b. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hsing A. W., McLaughlin J. K., Hrubec Z., Blot W. J., Fraumeni J. F., Jr Cigarette smoking and liver cancer among US veterans. Cancer Causes Control. 1990 Nov;1(3):217–221. doi: 10.1007/BF00117473. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hsing A. W., McLaughlin J. K., Hrubec Z., Blot W. J., Fraumeni J. F., Jr Tobacco use and prostate cancer: 26-year follow-up of US veterans. Am J Epidemiol. 1991 Mar 1;133(5):437–441. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115910. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hughes J. R., Hatsukami D. K., Mitchell J. E., Dahlgren L. A. Prevalence of smoking among psychiatric outpatients. Am J Psychiatry. 1986 Aug;143(8):993–997. doi: 10.1176/ajp.143.8.993. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Joseph A. M. Is Congress blowing smoke at the VA? JAMA. 1994 Oct 19;272(15):1215–1216. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Joseph A. M., O'Neil P. J. The Department of Veterans Affairs smoke-free policy. JAMA. 1992 Jan 1;267(1):87–90. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Joseph A., Korn J. Are veterans really different? The feasibility of smoke-free VA hospitals. JAMA. 1988 Sep 16;260(11):1551–1551. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Kinlen L. J., Rogot E. Leukaemia and smoking habits among United States veterans. BMJ. 1988 Sep 10;297(6649):657–659. doi: 10.1136/bmj.297.6649.657. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Klevens R. M., Giovino G. A., Peddicord J. P., Nelson D. E., Mowery P., Grummer-Strawn L. The association between veteran status and cigarette-smoking behaviors. Am J Prev Med. 1995 Jul-Aug;11(4):245–250. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Kroutil L. A., Bray R. M., Marsden M. E. Cigarette smoking in the U.S. military: findings from the 1992 Worldwide Survey. Prev Med. 1994 Jul;23(4):521–528. doi: 10.1006/pmed.1994.1071. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. McLaughlin J. K., Hrubec Z., Blot W. J., Fraumeni J. F., Jr Smoking and cancer mortality among U.S. veterans: a 26-year follow-up. Int J Cancer. 1995 Jan 17;60(2):190–193. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Richlie D. G., Winters S., Prochazka A. V. Dyslipidemia in veterans. Multiple risk factors may break the bank. Arch Intern Med. 1991 Jul;151(7):1433–1436. doi: 10.1001/archinte.151.7.1433. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Short P. F., Lefkowitz D. C. Encouraging preventive services for low-income children. The effect of expanding Medicaid. Med Care. 1992 Sep;30(9):766–780. doi: 10.1097/00005650-199209000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Zahm S. H., Heineman E. F., Vaught J. B. Soft tissue sarcoma and tobacco use: data from a prospective cohort study of United States veterans. Cancer Causes Control. 1992 Jul;3(4):371–376. doi: 10.1007/BF00146891. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Public Health Reports are provided here courtesy of SAGE Publications

RESOURCES