WASHINGTON, D.C.— In a letter to U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined a group of four other senators in urging the department to prohibit the sale of tobacco products at naval bases and aboard ships, a move the department is currently considering. Harkin was joined by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
“We recognize, support and thank you for your recent efforts to increase smoke-free areas on bases, eliminate smoking on submarines, and improve access to cessation services,” the senators wrote. “Again, we applaud your ongoing efforts to help our sailors and Marines break nicotine addiction and avoid the life-long health complications and deaths associated with tobacco use. We urge you to do everything in your capacity to address this issue for our military men and women, including moving forward with the proposal to stop the sale of tobacco aboard all naval bases and ships.”