S&S - AAFES pulling aspirin from combat zones

Stars and Stripes



AAFES pulling aspirin from combat zones

By Mark Abramson and Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes


Mideast edition, Friday, May 1, 2009

Chris Six / S&S
The Army and Air Force Exchange Service is pulling all products containing aspirin from the shelves at its contingency locations.

Department of Defense officials ordered that aspirin in combat zones be controlled and now prohibit over-the-counter access through AAFES and Morale, Welfare and Recreation activities, an AAFES press release stated.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"In an order written in March by then-Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Ward Casscells, service officials were told to make sure all U.S. troops and civilians headed into combat zones stop taking aspirin at least 10 days before they deploy, unless directed by a health care provider.

The goal of the policy is to minimize blood loss in combat injuries, he wrote, and cut down on the number of "preventable deaths" associated with those wounds.

The concern over aspirin stems from how it affects blood’s ability to clot."