Ohio institutions will go tobacco free on March 1; union opposes policy change
Jump to full article: Akron (OH) Beacon Journal, 2008-11-02
Author: Phil Trexler Beacon Journal staff writer
Intro: In Ohio, prisoners and their guards have been preparing since September to kick the habit for good, whether they like it or not.
Come March 1, all of the state's 32 institutions will be tobacco free. No cigarettes, no snuff, no chew, indoors or out.
Predictably, the policy change is being greeted with mixed reactions.
Chris Mabe is a corrections counselor at the Lorain Correctional Institution and vice president of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, which represents most of those who work inside the prison.
Mabe said the membership is concerned about the effects on a reduced staff, as well as the rights of guards and inmates co-existing in a high-stress environment. . . .
Terry Collins, director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, said the move is necessary for medical, economic and legal reasons.
With such a large percentage of inmate smokers, medical costs for Ohio's prisons approach $200 million a year. . . .
Legally, inmates have sued the state over secondhand smoke and some have raised questions on whether voter-approved smoking bans should extend to prisons.
In addition, the Ohio prison system is under a federal order to improve its delivery of health care.
Jump to full article » |