Page 10 - RADC Bulletin 2019

Smoking habits of UK military personnel on deployment: Exercise Saif Sareea 3
Capt J Williams RADC, WO1 M Fuller QARANC & Lt Col MB Smith RAMC
Key words
Saif Sareea 3, deployment, smoking, vaping, electronic cigarettes, e-cigs, smoking cessation
Key messages
1. Smoking habits increased overall on deployment during Saif Sareea 3, with a 269% increase in those smoking over a packet of cigarettes per day and 24.5% of ex-smokers restarting.
2. A downward trend in vaping occurred, which was influenced
by factors such as availability and confusion over legality. It is illegal to sell vaping products in Oman, but not to carry or use them. Disseminating this information would potentially have allowed troops to take e-cigarettes on deployment instead of opting for tobacco cigarettes.
3. The most common reason identified for the increase in consumption was boredom, with personal choice and the ban on electronic cigarettes cited as other common reasons.
4. Smoking cessation services were unavailable, but there was a demand identified; 30% declared they would have used such a service.
Abstract
Introduction. Smoking has numerous and widely documented detrimental health effects. Changes of environment brought about by deployments are often attributed to an increase in smoking of service personnel. E-cigarettes are recognised as being a viable aid to quitting smoking but are currently banned from use in Oman and were therefore banned by PJHQ for Ex SAIF SARREA 3. This paper sought
to establish whether smoking increased on this exercise and for what reasons. Also, if deployed smoking cessation services are likely to be used, if available. Methods. Questionnaires were distributed to deployed troops at various locations
in theatre for data collection. Results. Smoking prevalence increased by 5.2%
in the deployed population by the end of the exercise. The largest increase was
seen in those smoking 20 cigarettes a
day or more, rising by 269.8%. During the exercise the number of personnel using e-cigarettes decreased and individuals’ rate of e-cigarette use also decreased. Those
who smoked less during the exercise did mainly through choice (56.8%). 50% of all individuals who increased smoking habits during the exercise did so out of boredom. Conclusions. During deployments the number of individuals who smoke and the amount in which they smoke increases.
The ban on e-cigarettes in Oman and on exercise likely had an effect on the increased smoking habits. There is an argument
to include smoking cessation materiel in medical modules to prevent ex-smokers from restarting, continue to aid those quitting and potentially lessen severity of increasing smoking habits while deployed.
Introduction
The detrimental health effects of smoking are widely documented and supported
by a substantial body of evidence (1). Smoking within the military is therefore often a focal point in the interest of force health protection. Deployments unfortunately bring with them extreme changes in environment, routine, stress levels and even boredom. These factors have been attributed to individuals smoking more, returning to smoking and even initiating smoking for the first time (2), undoing progress made by individuals in the firm base.
Since being invented in 2003 electronic cigarettes are widely used in the UK. In 2018 6% of the adult population are reported to use them (3). Due to being a relatively novel method of nicotine use the health implications of electronic cigarettes are still largely unknown, however it is thought the health risks are “substantially below the risks of smoking” (3). Public Health England therefore advocate the use of electronic cigarettes as a method of smoking cessation (4), which has so far proven to be 60% more effective than quitting with no cessation aids (5).
Oman currently has a ban on the sale of
electronic cigarettes and vaping products. To that end, PJHQ briefed all personnel deployed on SAIF SAREEA 3 to abstain from the use of electronic cigarettes or taking them into country. The 300 and 501 role 1 primary care modules are currently not equipped to deliver smoking cessation to troops out in the field. Therefore any individuals in the process of quitting or dependant on nicotine replacement therapy needed to have provided any products necessary for the duration of the exercise.
This paper sought to establish if these factors, combined with the significantly cheaper cost and wide availability of cigarettes in Oman, may have led to an increase in both the number of individuals smoking, and the volume or frequency of smoking during the exercise. It also seeks to identify if smoking cessation services were available, how likely were they to have been used?
Method
Exercising troops were asked to
voluntarily complete an anonymous
paper questionnaire upon finishing Ex
SAIF SAREEA 3 and leaving theatre. Questionnaires were distributed at three different dining facility locations, being Shafa, Duqm and MAM. Information gathered
in the questionnaire related to participant demographics, pre-deployment smoking/ vaping behaviour, smoking/vaping behaviour by the end of the exercise, their motives behind these and also their viewpoint on the availability of smoking cessation clinics.
Results
560 completed questionnaires were processed and their data included in the results for this study. In total, approximately 5500 British servicemen and women attended the exercise, and so this study
8 RADC BULLETIN 2019
RESEARCH