Poisoned tobacco suspected in soldiers' illnesses in Afghanistan

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Poisoned tobacco suspected in soldiers' illnesses in Afghanistan
By Michael Gisick, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, September 6, 2008

Concern that two U.S. soldiers in Eastern Afghanistan may have been poisoned by locally bought tobacco has prompted at least one U.S. brigade to bar troops from buying cigarettes or dip on the Afghan economy.

The two soldiers became critically ill with similar symptoms over a two-day period in late July, said Lt. Col. Paul A. Fanning, a military spokesman. The soldiers, who had been found unconscious, were placed on life support and evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. They were later transferred to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and remain hospitalized, officials said.

Fanning said an investigation into what caused the Task Force Phoenix soldiers to become sick had not reached a definite conclusion.

"The possibility that the soldiers may have ingested something has not been ruled out, nor has it been proven," he said.

But military officials are taking precautions.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57224