US marines go cold turkey

There is a war on, and danger lurks ahead, and the American marines of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry are getting desperate – for tobacco.

It has been two weeks since they left the relative luxury of their camp in Kuwait and stocks of cigarettes and chewing tobacco are running out.

As a result, they are all rationing their precious supplies, and are even begging for smokes from local Iraqi farmers.

An army, Napoleon said, marches on its stomach. But for generations, armies have also marched on nicotine.

And these US marines – smoking more than usual under the stress of battle conditions – are becoming increasingly irritable.

“It just crushes morale,” said 22-year-old Cpl Jonathan Kibler.

Now the marines face the prospect of being involuntarily enrolled in what could be one of the most successful programmes to end nicotine addiction in history.

Cigarettes are usually smoked at every possible break and the doors of many Humvees are streaked brown from the spurts of tobacco-filled spit that shoot out of the windows every few minutes.

Tobacco helps relieve boredom, relax or stay awake for long nights, the troops say.

“It keeps your sanity,” said Lance Cpl Brandon Phelps.

US Rep Lane Evans, a member of the US House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs, has said that, “From the time of the Civil War until 1956, the Army was required by law to provide a cheap and nearly endless supply of tobacco to its personnel.”

That has changed. Since 2002, all Department of Defence facilities have been smoke-free – although of course that does not apply to the battlefield.

Despite the military’s best efforts, 34% of the members of the service smoke, compared to 23% of all Americans.

While living in their tent camp in Kuwait for nearly two months, the marines were constantly resupplied with cigarette cartons and rolls of 10 tins of chewing tobacco mailed by family members or with tobacco they bought themselves at the PX truck.

But there are no shops in this desert, although many marines swear they have huge stores of tobacco in the mail somewhere out there, there is yet to be a mail delivery and there is little hope for one soon.

“It is frustrating knowing that there’s a box more of it back there that I haven’t gotten yet,” said Capt Daniel Schmitt, 31, who ran out of chewing tobacco days ago.

With smokers and tobacco chewers becoming more desperate, the value of tobacco has exploded.

But most marines, no matter how low their stocks, are sharing what little they have.

“As soon as someone gets a can it’s pretty much gone in a day,” said Kibler. He offered to trade the entire contents of his day pack, except his sleeping bag, for one more tin.

Phelps has been smoking since he was nine and dipping (using chewing tobacco) since he was seven. But the four cans and six packs he brought from Kuwait ran out about a week ago and now he has to beg.

“Every time I see somebody light up a cigarette I’m right there: ‘What’s up, man?”’ he said.

So far, the marines have not exploded with nicotine rage. But they have become a little more irritable and uncomfortable.

“The real test will come when we are up for long hours and no one’s got dip or smokes,” Kibler said. “If we’re up for 30, 36 hours, you’ll see people getting real edgy.”

Cpl Matt Nale, 31, normally smokes half a pack a day. He brought three cartons of cigarettes with him from Kuwait, but they ran out nearly a week ago after he shared them with his mortar platoon.

Desperate, he managed to bum two packs of local Sumer cigarettes – stronger than his preferred Marlboros – off Iraqi farmers in the countryside using hand signals to bridge the language gap.

“We have had three cigarettes a day for the last three days because of those farmers,” he said.