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| Honey Buns, Not Nicotine Patches, Replace Cigarettes for Inmates |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 03/20/2006 |
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When Kentucky's Daviess County Jail banned smoking in February, its commissary replaced cigarettes with nicotine patches as jail officials worried about a drop off in sales. It turns out, though, that the $5,000 a month inmates used to spend on cigarettes are going elsewhere. “They'd rather spend it on honey buns,” Daviess County Jailer David Osborne said. The switch from smokes to sweets was one of the unexpected turns for Osborne when the jail went completely smokeless Feb. 1. The only inmates allowed to smoke before the ban went into place in February were the 145 to 155 trusties or inmates in the substance abuse or community service programs. Even those inmates had to smoke in outdoor areas. Inmates in the general population weren't allowed cigarettes. Osborne said the smoking ban went into place because of problems with security and contraband. “Every couple of hours, they started complaining and bugging the deputy, wanting to go out and smoke,” Osborne said. While inmates were out smoking, friends or relatives would toss cigarettes, marijuana and alcoholic beverages over the fenced-in areas where inmates were allowed to smoke, Osborne said. And, when trusties were allowed to smoke, inmates in the general population would sometimes threaten them if cigarettes weren't smuggled in, Chief Deputy Jailer Capt. Joni Clark said. "Cigarettes are probably the most common contraband," she said. There were also issues with cigarettes being smuggled into the jail's general population. A pack of cigarettes would sell for as much as $35 and became the source of fights, Osborne said. To light the contraband cigarettes, inmates would stick a paper clip into a cell's electrical outlet, which would heat the paper clip enough to light the cigarette, Osborne said. The problem, though, is the outlet would sometimes short out and create a fire, or short out the control board that runs the jail's electronic cell doors, Osborne said. The last time that happened, about two years ago, the repair bill was $3,000, he said. Smoking in jails may not be a problem for much longer, though, said Joey Stanton, president of the Kentucky Jailers' Association. Court rulings will probably lead all local, state and federal correctional facilities to ban smoking, Stanton said. "Within the next 10 years, probably all jails will become smoke-free," said Stanton, the Grayson County jailer. Stanton said he hasn't had problems with banning inmate smoking in his 545-bed jail in Leitchfield. Once a notice is posted, it's not that difficult to quit, Stanton said. "You don't have a choice when you're in a jail," Stanton said. Since Daviess County Jail inmates have gotten used to the smoking ban, most have accepted it, Osborne said. "A lot of them said 'I feel much better,'" Osborne said. |
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