Virginia prison facilities going tobacco-free

Virginia's roughly 40 state prisons, correctional field units and work release centers aim to be smokeand tobacco-free by Feb. 1 for staff and inmates.

Inmates were notified in January by a memo from Gene M. Johnson, director of the Virginia Department of Corrections. "Even when change is for the better, it can be difficult, and I appreciate your cooperation," wrote Johnson, who made the decision.

"Eliminating tobacco products has many positive outcomes including improved personal health, longer [life] and increased sanitation and safety in our facilities," he said.

According to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation, 33 state prison systems and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons are smoke-free indoors, and five of them smokeand tobacco-free on the entire grounds, as of April 20.

Larry Traylor, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections, noted that many prison systems have done or are doing the same, and that other smoking restrictions have been enacted in Virginia. "We just see the handwriting on the wall," he said.

Traylor said that according to the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, tobacco use kills more people inside and outside prison than AIDS, alcohol, drugs, suicide, murder and car accidents combined.

"The top four causes of death are all linked to tobacco use: heart disease, cancer, emphysema and stroke. This decision should eventually save taxpayer dollars in regard to inmate medical costs," Traylor said.

So far, eight prisons across the state are either smoke-free or have designated smoking areas for staff. The department has 12,000 employees and 32,600 inmates held in facilities large and small and ranging from minimum to so-called "supermaximum" security.

Traylor said there have been no major problems with the transition to smoke-free environments at some prisons. Tobacco-cessation aids such as nicotine patches and lozenges will be available for sale to inmates, and there will be cessation classes provided by the department.

"Because of the success of these eight facilities, the decision to go entirely tobacco-free was made in the fall of 2008," Traylor said.

He said the department anticipates a smooth transition in the rest of the facilities based on what has been learned at the first eight. He also said that most inmates are aware of the national trend and that many have already served time in tobacco-free jails.

Contact Frank Green at (804) 649-6340 or .