Military Smoking Statistics 2026: Service Members, Veterans

Military smoking statistics point to a population that uses tobacco at high rates, with an important caveat about who is counting. In the 2018 Department of Defense Health Related Behaviors Survey (HRBS), 18.4% of active duty service members reported smoking cigarettes in the past 30 days and 37.8% used some tobacco or nicotine product, while among veterans, a national analysis of 2014 to 2023 survey waves found that 20.9% currently used a tobacco product. This guide sets out those figures with their years and survey limits, then shows the free VA and DoD help available, including the 1-855-QUIT-VET coaching line listed on the VA site.

Military smoking statistics: the short answer

Two groups need separate numbers. Active duty service members are measured by Department of Defense surveys, the most recent public one being the 2018 HRBS. Veterans are measured by national surveys of the general population, such as the Current Population Survey Tobacco Use Supplement. The two do not use the same questions or years, so this article does not merge them into one figure.

The headline from the active duty data is that cigarette smoking among service members rose from 13.8% in the 2015 HRBS to 18.4% in 2018, as the MSMR (Medical Surveillance Monthly Report) notes (see the MSMR comparison of HRBS and PHA data). For the general adult picture, see what percentage of Americans smoke and smoking demographics.

Active duty service members: the 2018 survey

The MSMR paper compares two Department of Defense sources for 2018. The HRBS is a confidential survey. The Periodic Health Assessment (PHA) is a command-directed annual health check completed with a provider. The paper reports active duty prevalence for the past 30 days:

The gap between the two columns is the main finding. The authors conclude that “the command-directed PHA may substantially underestimate the prevalence of all types of tobacco and nicotine use”, and they note that PHA answers may be affected by service member concerns about negative career consequences. For that reason, the higher confidential HRBS figures are the better estimate of true use, with one limit of their own: of 199,996 eligible service members invited, 17,166 responded, a weighted response rate of 9.6%, which the authors say raises the risk of selection bias.

The same paper gives earlier context from the 2015 HRBS: cigarette use of 13.8% in the active duty population was, for the first time, lower than the general US population at 15.1%, while e-cigarette use was 12.4% in the military against 3.5% in the general population. Among ages 17 to 24 the e-cigarette gap was 22.8% versus 5.2%. The authors describe 2018 as the most recent HRBS data released, so these are not current rates. They add that the release of the 2024 HRBS should allow further assessment. This guide uses the 2018 figures until 2024 results are public.

Veterans: what national surveys show

A 2025 analysis in Drug and Alcohol Dependence combined six waves of the Current Population Survey Tobacco Use Supplement and Veterans Supplement, from 2014 to 2023 (see the abstract on PubMed). It reported that 20.9% of veterans had any current tobacco product use (14.9% every day and 6.0% some days), 42.9% were former users and 36.3% had never used tobacco.

Two simple readings of the veteran figures (our own arithmetic, not the authors’) help put them in context. First, about seven in ten veterans who currently use a tobacco product use it every day (14.9 of 20.9). Second, among veterans who have ever used tobacco (current plus former, 63.8% of the sample), roughly two thirds are now former users (42.9 of 63.8). That second number is encouraging: most veterans who used tobacco have already stopped, which shows quitting is common and achievable in this group.

• Service branch. Marines had higher odds of using smokeless tobacco than those in the Air Force (odds ratio 1.8, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.1).
• Disability. Veterans reporting a service-connected disability had higher odds of any tobacco use (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.5), smokeless use (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.5) and using more than one product (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.0).

A separate 2025 analysis in Preventive Medicine used National Survey on Drug Use and Health data from 2002 to 2023 for adult women (see the Preventive Medicine analysis). Veteran women had higher odds of smoking than non-veteran women (adjusted odds ratio 1.72, 95% CI 1.36 to 2.17) and higher nicotine dependence (aOR 1.49, 95% CI 1.08 to 2.06), while the difference in quit ratios was not statistically significant (aOR 0.83, 95% CI 0.62 to 1.10). Note that this comparison covers women only. For state variation among all adults, see smoking rates by state.

Video: VA on helping smokers quit

The US Department of Veterans Affairs channel has a video called “Helping Smokers Quit”, which suits readers who want to hear how VA approaches treatment.

Why the survey year and method matter

Military tobacco surveys lag, and each has quirks. The HRBS is confidential but has a low response rate, while the PHA reaches far more people but may understate use. The MSMR paper analyzed 854,579 PHAs completed during 2018, compared with 17,166 HRBS responses, and still found the PHA reported much less use. A reader choosing between the two should treat the HRBS number as the likelier figure and the PHA number as a floor.

The veteran estimates come from a different design again: household surveys of the general population, pooled over several years. That makes them good for national comparison but not for a precise yearly trend. If you see a single military smoking percentage quoted without a year and survey name, be cautious about it.

Smokeless tobacco and vaping in the ranks

In the 2018 HRBS, 13.4% of active duty service members reported chewing tobacco, snuff or dip in the past 30 days, and 16.2% reported e-cigarette use. In the veteran data above, Marines stood out for smokeless use. The pattern is why dip and vape matter in a military quit plan as much as cigarettes. If you use smokeless products, read our smokeless tobacco statistics and dip quit plan.

Survey definitions differ. The HRBS and PHA ask about the past 30 days, while the veteran survey measures “current” use, so a 13.4% figure for active duty dip use is not directly comparable with a veteran smokeless percentage.

Free VA and DoD quit help

The VA’s tobacco page, last updated September 25, 2026, lists treatment for Veterans who want to stop smoking, chewing or dipping (see the VA quit tobacco page). It states: “Using counseling and medication together makes it more than four times as likely you’ll succeed than if you try to quit cold turkey.” That is VA’s own claim, so treat it as a rough indication. The page lists:

• VA quit coaches: “Call 1-855-QUIT-VET (1-855-784-8838) to speak with VA-trained quit coaches.”
• Your VA provider. The page advises telling your VA health care provider you want to quit so they can help with a personalized plan and with medication and counseling options.
• Tools. SmokefreeVET daily text message tips, and VA’s Stay Quit Coach app for goals, urges and progress tracking.
• Medicines. Prescription medicines such as varenicline and bupropion and nicotine replacement such as patches and gum. Ask a VA clinician which fits you.

A new VA/DoD clinical practice guideline for tobacco use treatment was summarized in the Annals of Internal Medicine in September 2026. Its 32 recommendations include recommending motivational interviewing, varenicline over monotherapy with other agents, combination nicotine replacement therapy over a single NRT agent (each rated strong), and varenicline for stopping smokeless tobacco (Annals of Internal Medicine, September 2026). It is aimed at clinicians, so discuss specifics with your provider rather than self-prescribing. Active duty members should also ask their own military clinic what is available.

Using iQuit alongside VA support

iQuit is free on Google Play and the App Store. It is an extra tool, not a replacement for VA coaching or a clinician. You can log each craving with its trigger and intensity, use the SOS tools when an urge hits, watch your smoke-free days and money saved in the dashboard, and choose cold turkey or gradual reduction. For veteran-specific tools and a step-by-step plan, see our guide to quit help for veterans. For the evidence on what works across methods, see quit success rates by method.

What these statistics do not show

• Recent active duty rates. The latest public DoD survey data cited here are from 2018, with a 9.6% response rate.
• Veteran versus civilian for men. The veteran-versus-nonveteran comparison cited here covers women only; no same-survey comparison for men is quoted.
• By branch. Cigarette use by branch is not reported in the sources cited here, so no branch ranking is given.
• Causes. The sources report associations, such as with service-connected disability, not reasons.

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