Is it still common for young soldiers to smoke?
I remember when I became platoon leader in 2011, I was dismayed to see that ~80% of my platoon regularly smoked cigarettes. Shortly after taking over, I got everyone together in the bay and briefed them for about 15 minutes on the pernicious effects of habitual tobacco use.
I was utterly baffled when none of them quit smoking.
But things are changing. In the past few years, the youth smoking rate has collapsed to about 1.5%. I talked to teens in my neighborhood, and they told me no one in their school smokes cigarettes.
Now I'm wondering: has this trend affected the Army? I imagine many NCOs still smoke, but do any young soldiers?