THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 1, 1994 TAG: 9411010311
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
Maurice Beslow inhaled slowly from the centimeter-long butt that burned between his thumb and forefinger Monday afternoon.
His chubby fingers could barely hold the makeshift cigarette of barely more than a pinch of tobacco and white paper, sealed with spit.
He took one more drag - probably his last in the crowded confines of misdemeanor cellblock S1.
Today, the Norfolk city jail becomes the last in South Hampton Roads to go smoke-free. Inmates and staffers will no longer be allowed to smoke cigarettes or use tobacco products anywhere in the facility. Officials gradually began phasing out tobacco by offering low-tar and low-nicotine cigarettes. A week ago, the canteen stopped selling cigarettes entirely.
``They're just taking everything away,'' said 37-year-old Beslow, a smoker for 19 years. ``It ain't doing nothing but drawing tension.''
The smoking ban was scheduled to start Dec. 1, but Sheriff Robert McCabe moved it up after inmates began setting fires with matches and lighters. The major goal, McCabe said when he announced the new program in June, was to promote health. The secondary goal was fire safety.
An estimated 85 to 90 percent of the jail's inmates smoke, jail officials said, while 60 percent of the staff lights up.
``We know the dangers of the second-hand smoke,'' said George Schaefer, a jail spokesman. ``It can't be (a) situation where you allow half of those inmates to harm the health of other inmates.''
Overcrowding in the jail has also made it impossible to separate smoking and nonsmoking inmates, he said.
In addition, the city has spent more than $200,000 answering fire alarms at the jail since 1992, Schaefer said, ``so there obviously is a cost benefit to the city.''
But inmates say tensions from the ban have already risen. And coupled with other changes made by McCabe, there could be trouble, they say.
``Gum. . . We don't even get that to replace'' tobacco, said inmate Bernard Person, a 10-year smoker. ``They offered us nothing but a video.''
Gum is not allowed in the jail because prisoners can wad it up to damage locks. Inmates have received how-to pamphlets in addition to access to a nightly video about smoking, Schaefer said. They are also allowed to buy candy and other snacks from the canteen to help with nicotine withdrawal. Officials said they also investigated smoking cessation programs but found them too costly.
Jail officials said they have made shift changes to ensure that a guard can watch inmates in their cell-blocks at all times to help prevent any problems among inmates.
PORTSMOUTH'S JAIL was the second in the state to become smoke-free about five years ago. Officials now report fewer problems with fires started by inmates and no incidents arising from the ban.
``We had a lot of rumors that there would be a lot of problems,'' said Portsmouth Sheriff Gary Waters. ``But we've had one problem since we went smoke-free with one inmate in five years.
``It's probably been one of the best things that we've ever done,'' he said.
The Chesapeake and Virginia Beach and the regional jail in Suffolk are all smoke-free. Officials agreed the measures have led to cleaner facilities and few problems.
``It worked out very well for us,'' said Maj. David Newby, a spokesman for the Chesapeake jail.
``We just did a slow, easy transition.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
Maurice Beslow, of Norfolk, takes a drag from a cigarette in the
misdemeanor section of Norfolk's jail on Monday, the last day of
legal smoking. The ban, says Beslow, ``ain't doing nothing but
drawing tension.''
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK CITY JAIL CIGARETTE SMOKING
by CNB