Turkish Journal of
GERIATRICS

Gülhane Askeri Tıp Akademisi, Askeri Hijyen Bilim Dalı, Ankara
Gülhane Askeri Tıp Akademisi, Halk Sağlığı Anabilim Dalı-Ankara Reaction of old people's metabolism to drugs. chemical substances and physical and .physiological situations is generally different. Effects of alcohol and smoking amongst old people also show some differences that could not be neglected. Prevention of alcohol and smoking in old people does not only increase the life expectancy, but also can be beneficial in furthering the life-quality. As a cross-sectional one, the study targeted at studying 1074 retired army officers who were the registered members of the Association of Retired Officers in Ankara in 1996.865 (80.5 %) of the study group responded the questions in the questionnaire designed by the researchers to examine the status of alcohol and tobacco use in the group. It was found that 37.8% had never smoked and 38.6% had been smoking for more than 20 years, and 58.7% of the ex-smokers gave up due to poor health and again 15.5% of them quit smoking upon the physician's request. It was also established that 46.0% of the subjects used to take alcohol, but 14.3% of them were found to be alcoholics with pathological levels of alcohol use. As a summary it is concluded that studies assigned for the active and retired military personnel are required in order to lessen the habits that negatively affect health status and social conditions of the military personal. Keywords : Retired officers, Cigarette, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addictions