Smokeless Vets: A Smoking Cessation Movement

Under 5% of the Swedish population smokes tobacco. This isn’t a country that simply never smoked either — up to 49% of the country were self-proclaimed smokers at one point. How did they do it? How can you get so many people to quit smoking? 

There were some strict tobacco control measures put into place, but the Swedes also heavily pushed the use of “non-combustible tobacco products” like oral nicotine pouches and various vaping products. One study from Smoke Free Sweden claims that approximately 3.5 million Swedish lives were saved as a result of these efforts, and that those numbers of active smokers are still dwindling today.

What does that have to do with the military? Well, a whole lot of active duty service members and Veterans are smoking, want to quit, but can’t seem to kick the habit. Enter: Smokeless Vets, a group that aims to get a million Veterans to quit smoking.

Former USAF TACP and Black Rifle Coffee Company co-founder Jarred “JT” Taylor has been supporting Smokeless Vets from the beginning. He expressed disappointment at the VA’s ability to make meaningful contributions in these efforts. “There are no realistic resources Veterans can lean on [to quit smoking],” he told us. “It’s hard to get any good information.”

According to the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in 2018, 47% of service members attempted to quit smoking and were not successful; 52% of Veterans receiving healthcare through the VA told them they’d like to quite as well, but they have not been able to. Another VA study says that “seven out of every 10 Veterans who smoke would like to quit.”

“If over half of these guys are willing to take the steps to try, then we need to be putting in the time and money to get them off those addictions,” Taylor said. “Go figure — capable people with a heart for Veterans picks up the slack, not some government agency.”

If more Veterans quit smoking, the impact would extend beyond their own health. In 2014, the DOD spent almost $1.8 billion in medical and non-medical costs associated with tobacco use. In 2010, the VA spent approximately $2.7 billion on smoking-related care — drugs, hospitalization, and at-home care costs add up quickly. That’s not to mention the health and welfare of Veteran families who may also suffer as a result of their loved one smoking.

“Smokeless Vets is more than just calling a hotline,” Taylor explained. To start, the group is deep-diving the science behind quitting. They’re looking at the latest smoking cessation methods and seeing how they measure up to other methods around the world that have and haven’t worked. Then, they’re using their vast network of Veterans and other publicity resources to spread the word on various effective methods. 

Veterans may be motivated people in general, but they have to know what tools are at their disposal if they are going to take advantage of them. They have to know what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what has been effective around the globe.

Smokeless Vets is also keen on sharing success stories. If a Veteran has found successful ways to kick the habit, they’re interested in what new innovative methods they can use to get more Veterans on board. At the very least, sharing those stories can serve as an inspiration to others to move forward.

There’s a slightly alternative angle they’ve taken that may be a reason why the VA has trouble touching this subject — while vaping can be a stepping stone to smoking, it may also be an effective stepping stone toward quitting. The FDA has very little research on the subject, but Public Health England (PHE) conducted a study that, “concluded that e-cigarettes are 95% less harmful than tobacco, and that when supported by a smoking cessation service they help most smokers quit tobacco altogether.” The study also says that vapes “could one day be dispensed as a licensed medicine in an alternative to anti-smoking products such as patches.” 

Smokeless Vets isn’t jumping to conclusions — as vapes become more popular as a smoking alternative in the United States, they aim to follow ongoing studies through to their conclusions. For now, they are hopeful that non-combustible tobacco products will take off as a method for Vets to start their smoking cessation journey.

“I’ve seen the data,” Taylor said. “We’ve definitely had Veterans pushing to nicotine pouches which is a hell of a lot healthier. There’s a lot of bad data out there about those pouches, but they’re a lot safer than lighting up a cigarette ten times a day.”

Smokeless Vets is taking their cues from successful campaigns like the one in Sweden, and they’re applying those methods to Veterans and service members across the United States.

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References: 

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/partners/military/military-partners.html

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/groups/military.html

https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/vaping-devices-electronic-cigarettes

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(15)00338-0/abstract

https://smokefreesweden.org/wp-content/themes/smokefreesweden/assets/pdf/reports/Report%20The%20Swedish%20Experience%20EN.pdf

Luke Ryan is a former Army Ranger with several deployments to Afghanistan. He is the author of two war poetry books, “The Gun and the Scythe” and “A Moment of Violence,” and a novel, “The First Marauder.” Luke owns a small media and marketing company, Four Hawk Media, and is passionate about storytelling of all kinds — from writing to filmmaking.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.