Jump to full article: The Atlantic Monthly, 2009-08-07
Author: Kerry Golds
Intro: American smokers who called such legislation "anti-democratic" might find this undertaking by the Iraqi cabinet ironic: after all, the current legislative body is a product of the ongoing Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The high-percentage of Iraqi smokers indicates that this new law will be a lifestyle disruption for much of the population. What remains unclear, however, is how it will affect the cigarette-smoking American soldier.
A 2008 story on NPR gives the estimate that over two-thirds of the soldiers stationed in Iraq light up on a regular basis . . .
it is also true that many soldiers rely on cigarettes for stress-relief. Given the upward trend in military suicides, this encroachment on smoking space provokes concern.
And this is not an issue that will be disappearing soon: a few weeks ago the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs urged the Defense Department to enact anti-smoking laws within the armed services
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