You may be smoking in the wrong place

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Cory W. Bush
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  Designated Tobacco Areas or "smoke pits" are located throughout Aviano Air Base.

These DTAs are represented by signs displaying it's an area where individuals can use tobacco products. According to Air Force Instruction 40-102, all Department of Defense personnel and family members must use these areas when on an installation.

"Anything from cigarettes to hookahs must be used within these designated smoke areas," explained Kevin Egger, 31st Aerospace Medicine Squadron Health Promotion coordinator. "Even the popular electronic cigarettes you see people using."

The areas are put in place for several reasons, one of them being that smoking presents health hazards to smokers and non-smokers.

"Secondhand smoke has been found to be extremely dangerous," said Egger. "The risk for cancer is essentially 50 percent higher to individuals who are exposed to secondhand smoke on a daily basis rather than an individual who is not exposed."

There are more than 50 DTAs on base. According to Egger, it's each Airman's responsibility to police one another from smoking outside the DTAs.

"It comes down to the wingman concept," Egger said. "Airmen keep one another accountable to wear the uniform correctly. We should keep one another accountable to smoke within these DTAs as well."

Local nationals are not required to adhere to AFI 40-102. For more information on the health hazards associated with tobacco products, call the health promotion office at 632-4583. To find out more about DTAs, call the 31st Civil Engineer Squadron at 632-3675.