when did they stop putting cigarettes in mres
Smoking in the United States military With the entrance of the United States into World War I in 1918, cigarette use increased dramatically among United States military personnel as they were targeted by tobacco companies which touted cigarettes as a way for soldiers to psychologically escape from their current circumstances, boosting overall troop morale.[1][2] Cigarettes became so integrated into life on the battlefield that these symbols of pleasure and comfort were also used as a form of currency.[2] Although cigarettes had been regarded as a physical and moral hazard by early anti-tobacco movements around this time, by 1918, previously anti-cigarette organizations and the military began supporting efforts to distribute cigarettes to troops. The New York Times garnered support for these efforts by stating that cigarettes "lighten[ed] the inevitable hardships of war", and another popular periodical described cigarettes as the "last and only solace of the wounded." [1][3] With the rise of World War II, tobacco companies continued to foster this culture of wartime smoking by sending free cigarettes to troops and supporting the inclusion of cigarettes into the soldiers' rations. Advertisements also encouraged citizens back home to support the troops by sending cigarettes.[2][4] In 1965, first during the U.S. Army’s Basic Training Course & later in Pre-Airborne Infantry Training, while being allowed a break from P.T., or during a long march, it was commonplace for a Drill Sergeant to say "smoke ’em if you got ’em, do pushups if you don’t". Non-smoking soldiers would quickly "bum" a cigarette from a friend & they too would soon be smokers.[4] Despite mounting evidence in the 1950s of the adverse health effects of smoking and tobacco use, the military continued to include cigarettes in rations until 1975.[5]