A National Survey of Cigarette Prices at Military Retail Outlets

Abstract

Smoking among military personnel impedes readiness and results in poorer job performance and substantial costs from smoking-related illness and absenteeism.1 Smoking rates among junior enlisted personnel remain higher than the general population, leading the Department of Defense to take steps to reduce tobacco use.2 In 2005, the Department of Defense Instruction 1330.9 mandated that prices for tobacco products sold in US military retail outlets be “no lower than 5 percent below the most competitive commercial prices in the local community” to “communicate to Service members that tobacco use is detrimental to health and readiness.” The Instruction was intended to equalize the cost to consumers, including taxes. No studies address the Instruction’s effect on tobacco pricing, although military personnel believe cigarettes are sold at deeply discounted prices.3 We investigated cigarette prices at military retail outlets compared with the local market.