Success in basic combat training: the role of cigarette smoking.

We studied whether cigarette smoking affected a soldier's ability to complete basic combat training. Demographic and tobacco use information was collected from a cohort of soldiers before they began training. A list of all graduates was obtained and analyzed against the initial questionnaire data. In this prospective study, the smoking group comprised 339 soldiers and the nonsmoking group comprised 535 soldiers. We found that those soldiers who smoked one or more packs of cigarettes per day were at a greater risk for failing basic combat training (relative risk = 2.05, P = 0.092. There was no relationship observed between a soldier's education and his ability to complete basic combat training. Our data indicate that smoking one or more packs of cigarettes per day may adversely affect a soldier's ability to complete basic combat training.