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Steve's cigarettes-in-MREs comment from the News section
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 9:49 pm
by kman
Over in the
News section, Steve made a comment. I hope he doesn't mind if I repost it here:
Steve said:
I think they should put cigarettes back in MRE's. I dont know why they dicontinued them in C rats back in 72' or whatever it was. I mean yeah they are bad for you, but how do those guys get thier cigs now?
Are there like special order forms for people that are addicted to them? Or are they forced to go into withdraw and quit?
I dont smoke, nor' am I ever planning to smoke, but I've wondered about this, I mean really... why not put cigs back into MRE's, I think it would give a nice morale boost to the fellas over in Iraq.
Dont smoke and you got cigs? Trade em for tobasco sauce or some candy or something.
I really think the military should just do this again... it would make MRE's even more fun to buy... lol.
I'm wierd, the more usless stuff in an MRE - the better!
I think I have 117 bottles of tobasco sauce, I've eaten about 350 MRE's in my life, and I have collected most of the Tobasco sauce bottles. Maybe used like 6 of em or something.
I bought some overpriced Sopacko MRE's today as a matter of fact.... and I think they're old... or either brand new.. the barcode thing on em says "4204"
Is that 1994 or 2004? I have stuff like Minestrone Stew and Vegetable Mancotti in Tomato sauce.
Maybe these are the new Sopacko MRE's, I dont know I'm kinda dumb, I'd eat a 14 yer old MRE and barely notice...... until I'm puking up my stomach and spleen and stuff.
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for cigarettes to reappear in military rations. I'd say this is for two reasons: #1 - cost - it'd just raise the cost of MREs more than they could justify and #2 - political correctness - I mean, there's just NO WAY in this society that cigarettes could make a come-back.
How do the guys get their cigs now? I can't say for 100% but I'm pretty sure they just buy them at the PX or whatever store is near their base. Of course, if they're deployed overseas and there's not a PX in site, they're have to either bring their own stock or trade with other guys.
And as for your Sopakco MREs - if it has Vegetable Manicotti, that's 2004 menu, definitely.
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 9:59 pm
by DIRTYDAVE
I really don't think the US Goverment would have to pay for the cigs. I am sure Marlboro would gladly give our men and women free cigs, only to get them hooked on our keep them hooked on their product. If not free, then probably would sell them for a penny per cig, that would still net the cig companies a lot of dough at only a cent or two per fag (fag by the way is a slang term for cigarette and is in no way meant to be derogatory). How many men in WWII smoked Lucky Strikes? Pall Mall? The kind of product a man/woman eats in combat or the cig he smokes or beer he drinks makes a lasting impression on him/her and is the one thing they remain loyal to. I am sure you can interview a WWII vet or a Vietnam Vet and ask them what takes them back to the day and they will tell you, Lucky Strikes, Pall Mall for WWII vets and probably Winston, Marlboro for the Vietnam Vets, same goes for food stuffs or even music.
I imagine a lot of soldiers in the field are getting their cigarettes from the people who are living in Iraq or wherever they are fighting. I am sure Marlboro has a good foot hold in Iraq and does a hell of an exportation business there. I am sure as soon as Philip Morris heard of the impending war, they beefed up their cigarette exportation to HABIB grocer in Iraq to keep JOE and JANE puffing away!!!
Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2005 12:37 am
by Steve
Damn you guys are smart, just get soldiers hooked on cigs, good marketing scheme for those tobacco companys.
Your right, even at one cent a cig it would be worth getting those guys hooked, they will come home and just need to have SOMETHING to remind them of thier war days. Whats better than cigarettes? I mean they're addicting in the first place, but for a soldier... thats really mean kinda... hehe.
Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2005 4:23 pm
by DIRTYDAVE
Yes, BIG TOBACCO is all about helping the troops get lung cancer, er I mean helping them have a little taste of home. I wonder why the "ciggies" have not been reintroduced. I am sure they have tried. The person in charge of those decisions on MRE component inclusions, must be a big anti smoker or perhaps had one lung removed from smoking and will hear nothing about it.
Cigs in rats
Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2005 1:21 am
by DangerousDave
Never happen. A few cases of C rats dated in the mid 1970's I saw, had the the little 6 smoke packs of kools and benson&hedges and marlboros. You know Uncle Sam will never go for that again. I think it's a cool idea, but this is the age age of PC. Heck, you can't even smoke in basic and AIT anymore. Whats the use?
Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2005 1:50 pm
by DIRTYDAVE
I have never been in the military Dangerous Dave, what does AIT stand for, if you don't mind answering this question?
AIT
Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2005 4:17 pm
by DangerousDave
Advanced Individual Training. Basically, it's initial training for ones MOS. I did mine OSUT style at Benning in '84. 11 BangBang all the way.
Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 5:02 pm
by signalfreq
I call you, you call me, I'm a 31C... hee hee hee..... No seriously though, soldiers get hooked on cigarettes anyways.... regardless of wheather or not they're in our MREs.
As a steadfast, dedicated smoker, I for one can tell you that if you run out of smokes in the field, you're hatin' life, until you can get to a Shopette back in the rear......
The tobacco companies would jump on any chance to market their product in anyway they can. And I'm sure they wouldn't mind providing some "samples" to the soldiers.
The only problem is --- will the cigarette last as long as the MRE? If it came down to it, yeah, I'd smoke a 3-year old cigarette, but that would be a nasty smoke....
Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 6:36 pm
by ThomasFromGermany
I´d smoke "winston" from an old c-ration,10 or 15 years old
the cigarettes were good
Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 6:45 pm
by kman
No way, ThomasFromGermany? You really smoked one of those? Wow...I kind of figured you'd light one of those babies up, take a puff, and then WHOOSH...the whole thing would go up in a flash of light and puff of smoke.