2008 Woodie Awards
California Bans Smoking in Prisons
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill to prohibit inmates from using tobacco products.
Tiffany Farmakis
Issue date: 10/13/04 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Inmates will no longer be allowed to smoke at California correctional facilities, according to new legislation signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The tobacco ban will go into effect July 2005 and will cover smoking, snuff and chewing tobacco. Although staff members are expected to abide by the new legislation, they will still be allowed to smoke at in-staff housing when prisoners are not present and at Indian religious ceremonies.
The Department of Corrections already prohibits tobacco use by inmates in 13 of its 32 adult prison facilities, according to state officials. The California Youth Authority has banned tobacco use by its wards since the late 1980s, but both systems have smoking areas for staff.
Supporters said the move will help improve the health of 160,000 inmates, as well as saving money on healthcare.
Seven other states already have full smoking bans in their prisons and five others have partial bans, said Kevin O'Neill, an aide for Assemblyman Tim Leslie, who authored the bill.
Leslie predicted the legislation would "drastically reduce" prison healthcare costs.
"The governor has put us on the road to saving taxpayer dollars and prisoners' lives," he said.
However, bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, a former prisoner who ran for governor in California last year, argued that the financial and medical benefits to the state's 35 million residents would be insignificant.
Padilla argued that cigarettes are a powerful currency in prisons and the ban would potentially create "problems that are greater than the possibility of some inmates having lung cancer."
Critics of Schwarzenegger also said that enforcing the ban will be difficult and would infringe on inmates rights.
"I believe inmates should be allowed to smoke since so many of their rights have been taken away anyway," said linguistics major, Antonia Kovatcheva. "If you're meant to be sick, you'll be sick. If it's not the cigarettes it will be something else."
Others point out that there are more positive ways to keep inmates from smoking.
Jim Lindburg, legislative director for the Friends Committee on Legislation, told the Associated Press that an effective approach would be to encourage prisoners to stop smoking by providing them with nicotine patches and gum, not to force them to quit so abruptly.
The tobacco ban will go into effect July 2005 and will cover smoking, snuff and chewing tobacco. Although staff members are expected to abide by the new legislation, they will still be allowed to smoke at in-staff housing when prisoners are not present and at Indian religious ceremonies.
The Department of Corrections already prohibits tobacco use by inmates in 13 of its 32 adult prison facilities, according to state officials. The California Youth Authority has banned tobacco use by its wards since the late 1980s, but both systems have smoking areas for staff.
 Media Credit: Sevan Ghazaryan UP IN SMOKE - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill, which is set to go into effect July 2005, that bans prison inmates from using tobacco products. |
Supporters said the move will help improve the health of 160,000 inmates, as well as saving money on healthcare.
Seven other states already have full smoking bans in their prisons and five others have partial bans, said Kevin O'Neill, an aide for Assemblyman Tim Leslie, who authored the bill.
Leslie predicted the legislation would "drastically reduce" prison healthcare costs.
"The governor has put us on the road to saving taxpayer dollars and prisoners' lives," he said.
However, bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, a former prisoner who ran for governor in California last year, argued that the financial and medical benefits to the state's 35 million residents would be insignificant.
Padilla argued that cigarettes are a powerful currency in prisons and the ban would potentially create "problems that are greater than the possibility of some inmates having lung cancer."
Critics of Schwarzenegger also said that enforcing the ban will be difficult and would infringe on inmates rights.
"I believe inmates should be allowed to smoke since so many of their rights have been taken away anyway," said linguistics major, Antonia Kovatcheva. "If you're meant to be sick, you'll be sick. If it's not the cigarettes it will be something else."
Others point out that there are more positive ways to keep inmates from smoking.
Jim Lindburg, legislative director for the Friends Committee on Legislation, told the Associated Press that an effective approach would be to encourage prisoners to stop smoking by providing them with nicotine patches and gum, not to force them to quit so abruptly.
