Bellflower;
I could come up with something snappy but words just fail me right now.
I remember C-Rations with the 4 pack of Luckys or Pall Malls. I thought it was stupid for the military to be forced to take them out way back then.
The US military is not a bunch of monks on a mission to convert the world to the good life. They are average Americans far from home who are kicking in doors,fighting and stuck in FOBs 24/7. This is not the same as having a 9-5 job in Germany where you go "Home" (Barracks) every night.
No civilian understands the 24/7 concept of the military. Yeah, you can talk about it and think about it but to understand you have to live it. If smoking gives a soldier a bit of pleasure in a nasty world then I say let them go for it.
The military has regulated sex and drinking. Let the soldiers keep one or two vices.
And yes, I am a non-smoker.