Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 31, 1994 TAG: 9501030046
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Smoking will be banned in the Roanoke County-Salem jail starting Sunday, the same day Virginia's no-parole law takes effect.
``We're going to try to take the fun out of going to jail,'' Roanoke County Sheriff Gerald Holt said.
Actually, the smoking ban is not intended to punish inmates, but rather to protect them from the health hazards of smoke-filled cellblocks, which sometimes appear to be clouded in a blue haze, with walls stained yellow from nicotine.
In the past, as many as 80 percent of the jail's 165 inmates have smoked, and some chain smokers were limited only by the 30-pack weekly cap imposed by the jail's canteen.
``They obviously are not going to be real happy with it,'' Holt said of the smoking ban. ``But I have a moral and professional obligation to protect the inmates and my staff who are exposed to secondhand smoke.''
Barry Lew, a self-described ``die-hard smoker'' pulling six years in the county lockup for grand larceny and a parole violation, doesn't buy that argument for a second.
``I think it's nothing but a political move,'' said Lew, who sees the ban as playing to a public that wants tougher treatment for inmates. ``It's the same thing as no parole; it's a crock.''
As for the risk of secondhand smoke, Lew said, ``I think you have a greater risk of catching tuberculosis in here than you do of getting cancer.''
Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that jails could legally deprive inmates of tobacco, more and more jails have started to ban smoking, said Capt. Barry Tayloe of the Roanoke County Sheriff's Office.
Wythe County banned cigarettes in its jail this year, and the Roanoke City Jail is planning a ban effective July 1, after a six-month transition period to allow inmates to kick the habit gradually, Roanoke Sheriff Alvin Hudson said.
Roanoke County started its own transition program Sept. 1, with a memorandum to inmates. ``The intent of this policy is to fairly and humanely assist inmates in the elimination of their addiction to tobacco products,'' the memo stated.
Educational material, counseling sessions and medical assistance - including anti-smoking patches - were offered during the phase-in and will continue to be available for inmates after Jan.1, Tayloe said.
The jail's canteen - the only place where inmates can purchase their smokes - has been cutting back on the 30-pack-a-week limit, from 15 in October to seven in November to just one pack in the last week leading up to the ban.
``You can't go in and just quit cold turkey,'' Holt said. ``I didn't want to set off an inmate uprising.''
Effective at midnight tonight, any cigarettes or matches found in the jail will be considered contraband, and the inmate possessing them could face disciplinary action.
Smokeless tobacco is included in the ban, which also applies to jail employees. Of the 90-member jail staff, 14 are smokers.
Some inmates have said a tobacco prohibition might lead to disturbances and outbreaks of violence caused by uptight prisoners in need of a nicotine fix.
``I think there are going to be a lot of high-strung people in here,'' Lew said. ``I'm not saying for sure that it will cause any trouble, but it's like any other drug - there will be withdrawal symptoms, and anything can happen.''
While acknowledging that some inmates might be a bit edgy, jail officials said the strongest craving for tobacco passes after 24 to 48 hours. They also point out that there is not a widespread problem with disturbances caused by incoming drug- or alcohol-addicted inmates who also must undergo a crash withdrawal.
And with matches and cigarettes no longer allowed, Holt said, the risk of fires will be reduced. ``We had a mattress fire just three weeks ago'' that would have been prevented by the smoking ban, the sheriff said.
Travis Moorman, who has 50 days left to serve for his third DUI offense, said some of the rumblings about unrest are probably exaggerated.
Moorman said the impending ban has helped him stop smoking - something he had tried to do when he was free, but with less success.
``I haven't had one in four days,'' he said Thursday.
With other inmates smoking right up to the midnight cutoff, Moorman has found a lucrative market for his extra cigarettes, trading them for other items from the canteen, such as candy or stamps.
``I've still got seven left,'' he said, ``So I know that's at least four or five candy bars.''
by CNB