Smoking in the Military: Resisting the Urge
During World War II an entire generation became hooked into nicotine addiction.(1) They were aware cigarettes weren’t the healthiest habit, and felt some of the negative effects, but still many soldiers of that generation decided to smoke. In a study conducted during WWII, 50.1% of soldiers smoked.(2) Soldiers in World War II had difficulty resisting the urge to smoke; many found it was almost impossible because it was so embedded in the lifestyle around them. As this analysis of soldiers’ correspondence and oral histories reveals they decided to smoke for a variety of reasons: the habit had positive social consequences, it helped them cope with stress, it was hard to escape the promotion of cigarette smoking by tobacco companies, and the military itself promoted it.
While historians have addressed smoking during World War II, the focus of this research has been on the effects of smoking on soldiers and why so many of this generation were drawn to smoking in the military. My research was conducted through analysis of a variety of primary and secondary sources, including soldiers’ personal correspondence and an oral interview. While many articles related how many soldiers smoked, they did not address why a soldier decided to smoke. My research aims to shed light on the reasons why a soldier was pressured into smoking during World War II.
Among the many disadvantages of smoking there seemed to be quite a few positive benefits for a soldier. In camp, smoking was a way to combat boredom throughout the long hours of waiting for troop movements or other war related efforts. It was just like cards; it gave the soldier something to do to pass the time. Smoking was also a way that soldiers bonded. Cigarettes were used to make conversation between soldiers. If they both smoked, they already had something in common, so it allowed soldiers in a new place to become social.
War caused a lot of stress in many soldiers, and they looked to tobacco and cigarettes as a potential cure. Stress is one of the main reasons a soldier started to smoke. The amount of stress and the amount of smoking is also linked; a stressed soldier tended to smoke more.(3) Smoking allowed a soldier to remove himself from the realities of war and to finally relax and not think about bombs and explosions as illustrated in Figure 1. It often gave a soldier the strength and courage to face another day of extreme discomfort and fatigue.(4) In some pictures of injured soldiers, they are seen with a cigarette. It is possible soldiers are seen like this because the stress calming effects of cigarettes seemed to be medicinal. During many parts of the war, morphine supplies were low, so soldiers relied on cigarettes as pain management.(5) The cigarettes lowered the patient’s blood pressure and pulse to help the soldier deal with pain.
After the constant propaganda that made enemies seem inhumane and beastlike, United States soldiers would use cigarettes so they could talk to them. Blondia explained in her research that prisoners of war had sometimes been given cigarettes to help them look and feel less hostile.(6) Cigarettes during a time of war were also used to trade for clothing, alcohol, sex, or were sold easily to other soldiers.(7) They were a form of currency and a soldier could use them to buy just about anything. Hiram Drache described in my interview with him that he loved getting the rations while he was stationed in Europe. He would trade the cigarettes for chocolate, and there were always eager takers.(8) Kenny Dole describes in his letter to his family, that he was able to trade his cigarettes to the native tribe in the area for bananas and coconuts. This suggests that cigarettes were not only used to trade between troops, but to be traded to benefit others in the area, too.(9)
Tobacco companies tried to capitalize on the war and capitalize on the soldiers to gain more customers. They aired many advertisements using the colors red, white, and blue, emphasizing how much the troops loved their cigarettes and how sending more could help the war effort as illustrated in Figure 2. They even made packages stamped, ready to mail, to make it easier for loved ones to “help the war effort." Throughout World War II, many companies sent free cigarettes overseas to the soldiers as morale boosters(10) to try to get them hooked for life. The companies also organized concerts and other entertainments for the troops. It was impossible to get away from the tobacco companies' influence. Tobacco companies tried to link patriotism, toughness, and a soldier’s military service with smoking.(11)
There has always been a pro-tobacco culture in the military. The military had fostered the image of a hard charging, hard drinking, and cigarette smoking soldiers for years.(12) There had been many studies showing that there is a much higher amount of smokers in the military than the amount of civilian smokers.(13) Did the military attract or create smokers? Well, for starters, the military had provided each and every soldier in combat with their daily ration of cigarettes for most of World War II (see Figure 3). World War II soldier Howard Sarty described in a letter to his wife that soldiers were given cigarettes, cigars, and beer.(14) What they did after that was up to them, whether they decided to smoke the rations or trade them, but the effects of peer pressure in the war was also a very real thing.
In many cases, a soldier would emulate other soldiers they admired.(15) If a soldier had many peers that smoked, it became a social norm and it became more acceptable to smoke.(16) Finally, for the soldiers that weren’t in combat, every military store during World War II had cigarettes that were discounted very heavily.(17) In the United Service Organizations they would freely hand out cigarettes to soldiers.(18) If the military wasn’t promoting tobacco, why would they make tobacco so easily accessible?
The research presented here illustrates that soldiers in World War II had a hard time resisting the urge to smoke. There were some that could resist that urge, but for others there were just too many influences to ignore. Whether they began smoking because of stress, the benefit’s they gained, tobacco companies’ influence, or even the military’s influence, one thing is certain, during World War II there were many factors around camp and in battle that influenced a soldier to smoke.
Author: Brandon Wayne
References:
(1) Marcus Franklin, “Troops & tobacco: A hard habit for America's soldiers to break.” St. Petersburg Times, February 29, 2004.
(2) Gregory H. Blake, “Smoking and the Military.” New York State Journal of Medicine 85 (1985): 354.
(3) Besa Smith et al., “Cigarette Smoking and Military Deployment: A Prospective Evaluation,” American Journal of Preventative Medicine 35 (2008): 539.
(6)Amarilla Blondia, “Cigarettes and their impact in World War II,” Perspectives: A Journal of Historical Inquiry 37 (2010): 15. http://web.calstatela.edu/centers/perspectives/vol37/37_Blondia.pdf.
(4) Ibid., 15.
(5) Ibid., 18.
(7) Ibid., 19.
(8) Hiram Drache. Personal Interview. November 5, 2015
(9) Kenny Dole to Oscar, Mildred, and Harland, June 1, 1944. Robert J, Dole Archive and Special Collections, accessed November 30, 2015. http://dolearchivecollections.ku.edu/collections/wwii_letters/files/c027_003_000_082.pdf
(10) Blake, “Smoking and the Military”, 356.
(11) Ibid., 354.
(12)Terry Conway, “Tobacco use and the United States military: a longstanding problem.” Tobacco Control 7 (1998): 219.
(13) Smith, “Cigarette Smoking and Military Deployment,” 539.
(14) Sarty, Howard L., 1919-1977, “Letter to Yvette from Howard, May 19, 1945,” Concordia Memory Project, accessed December 14, 2015,http://concordiamemoryproject.concordiacollegearchives.org/admin/items/show/978.
(15) Blake, “Smoking and the Military”, 355.
(16) Conway, “Tobacco use and the United States military” 219.
(17)Elizabeth A. Smith and Ruth E. Malone, “Tobacco promotion to military personnel: The plums are here to be plucked,” Military Medicine 8 (2009): 797.
(18) Sarty, Howard L., 1919-1977, “Letter to Yvette from Howard, December 25, 1943,” Concordia Memory Project, accessed December 14, 2015,http://concordiamemoryproject.concordiacollegearchives.org/admin/items/show/1180.
Image Citations:
Figure 1: NARA, “Resting on Peleliu Island,” September 14, 1944, accessed November 23, 2015, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Resting_on_Peleliu_Island.jpg
Figure 2:From the collection of Stanford University (tobacco.stanford.edu)
Figure 3: US Army Signal Corps, “K-Ration Breakfast Unit,” January 1, 1943, accessed November 23, 2015, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KRation_Breakfast.JPG.
US Army Signal Corps, “K-Ration Dinner Unit,” January 1, 1943, accessed November 23, 2015, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KRation_Dinner.JPG.
US Army Signal Corps, “K-Ration Supper Unit,” January 1, 1943, accessed November 23, 2015, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KRation_Supper.JPG.