The Influence of Men’s Military Service on Smoking Across the Life Course

Abstract

The military is described as a social context that contributes to the (re-)initiation or intensification of cigarette smoking. We draw on data from the 1985–2014 National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) to conduct complementary sub-studies of the influence of military service on men’s smoking outcomes across the life course. Descriptive findings from an age–period–cohort analysis of NSDUH data document higher probabilities of current smoking and heavy smoking among veteran men across a broad range of cohorts and at all observed ages. Findings from sibling fixed-effects Poisson models estimated on the WLS data document longer durations of smoking among men who served in the military and no evidence that selection explains the observed relationship. Together, these results provide novel and potentially generalizable evidence that participation in the military in early adulthood exerts a causal influence on smoking across the life course.

Self-Reported ADHD and Adult Health in the United States

“…For example, given the health selectivity of the military (Wolf, Wing, & Lopoo, 2013), ADHD may limit access to this potentially transformative early-adulthood institution and thereby veteran status. Given evidence of the linkages between veteran status, health behaviors, and health outcomes across the life course, for better and worse (London, Herd, Miech, & Wilmoth, 2017; Miech, London, Wilmoth, & Koester, 2013; Wilmoth, London, & Parker, 2010), veteran status is a potential mediator of the relationship between ADHD and adult health. Marital status and quality also influence health outcomes.…”

Service-Connected Disability and the Veteran Mortality Disadvantage

“…These data limitations should be addressed in future research. Future research should also consider the extent to which the elevated risk of mortality across all veteran groups is related to the shared influence of the military on health behaviors that differentiate veterans from nonveterans, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and body mass index (Landes, Ardelt, & Landes, 2018;London, Herd, Miech, & Wilmoth, 2017;Wilmoth, London, & Himes, 2015).…”

Lifetime Smoking Patterns and Preferences for Smoking Cessation Among Women Veterans Receiving Veterans Health Administration Care

“…Military service affected tobacco use through three key mechanisms: tobacco exposure, social incentives for tobacco use (e.g., smoke breaks), and coping with psychological stressors (e.g., discrimination and MST). There is quantitative evidence that military service increases risk for smoking initiation and maintenance across the lifespan (London, Herd, Miech, & Wilmoth, 2017), as well as qualitative work that suggests smoking norms during military service influence smoking initiation and maintenance (Gierisch et al, 2012). The current study, however, provides new information regarding how gender-related assault, harassment, and discrimination in the military may affect women veterans’ smoking behavior.…”