Though tobacco use has been declining in the US, service members and military veterans continue to have higher rates of tobacco use than civilians.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cigarettes remain the number one preventable cause of death in the United States, and veterans smoke cigarettes at significantly higher rates than the national average.
In fact, more than one in five US veterans smoke, and according to data before 2019, that number jumps to over half among male veterans and service members between the ages of 18 and 25.
One method to combat the prevalence of harmful cigarettes is through tobacco harm reduction, or supporting tobacco users to switch to less harmful, smoke-free nicotine products.
How effective are tobacco harm reduction strategies? What federal policies and regulations can curb cigarette smoking among service members and veterans and reduce the rates of tobacco-related disease? And how can we support communities with a disproportionately high rate of cigarette smokers to change their daily routines?
Join The Hill and PMI U.S. on March 17th for an in-depth discussion with lawmakers, public health experts, and veterans’ organizations on the rates of smoking within veteran and military communities. We will explore how tobacco harm reduction can impact the smoking behavior of communities in the US that are most affected by tobacco use.
PMI’s U.S. businesses (PMI U.S.) are on a mission to deliver a smoke-free future in the U.S. by replacing cigarettes with better, smoke-free alternatives, such as ZYN and IQOS, for America’s 30 million legal-age adults who smoke.
From PMI’s global headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, and other locations nationwide, PMI U.S. contributes leadership, jobs, investment, and innovation in the U.S. The U.S. businesses employ more than 3,000 people across America and operate product manufacturing facilities, including in Owensboro, Kentucky, and Wilson, North Carolina.
