Armed forces establishments should stop selling tobacco products through their canteens and the policy providing such items at a discount to armed forces personnel should be revisited, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has suggested.



In a letter to Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, Vardhan also suggested that all defence establishments including naval ships should be declared 'No Smoking' zones.



He wrote that the sale of alcohol and tobacco is commonplace in defence canteens. "The anti-smoking efforts have so far not focused on this particular health risk that puts thousands of armed force personnel at great risk which is entirely preventable," he wrote.



The Health Minister further said that there is no data available as to the extent of smoking in Indian Armed forces and consequently the adverse health impact on the defence personnel following tobacco use.



"To my understanding there is no policy formulated by the Armed Forces on tobacco sales and its use," he said.



Noting that tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, Vardhan said that according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), tobacco kills half of its users.



"In numbers, tobacco kills nearly 6 million people each year," he said.



He said military personnel are required to pass fitness tests, undergo periodic drug tests, and meet weight and body-composition standards or face disciplinary action, including possible discharge.



"Yet despite the underlying expectations for superlative fitness and despite the availability of state-of-the-art tobacco-cessation programs, many military personnel still use tobacco, and its use remains accepted, accommodated and promoted in the armed forces. Why?



In his letter, Vardhan wrote that military personnel are sometimes said to need tobacco for stress relief but countered it saying that tobacco users in the military report higher levels of stress than non-users.



So perhaps the stress being relieved is actually derived from nicotine withdrawal, he added.



He said the argument that tobacco is a necessity for military service members devalues their long-term quality of life and ignores the military's obligation to provide healthy, effective means of stress relief to service members.



The Health Minister also said that efforts to remove tobacco from military stores might be resisted by the tobacco industry and its allies.



"But many tobacco-control policies, such as clean- indoor-air-laws and cigarette laws have been similarly characterised as harbingers of government inclusiveness," Vardhan wrote.



He said that he strongly feels that armed forces need to be physically and mentally fit and avoid using substances that compromise their health and well being.



"Therefore the armed forces must stop selling tobacco products through their canteens and the Ministry may revisit its policy of making available cigarettes and other tobacco products at a discount to the members of the services," Vardhan said.



Such a step should be backed up by education and information campaign so that the opposition to the proposed measures may be nipped in the bud, he said.



"Furthermore, all defence establishments including naval ships should be declared 'No Smoking' zones. This would go a long way in creating a healthy and fit force that can take up any enemy challenge with grit and determination," he said.