THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 2, 1994 TAG: 9406020449
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: D3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940602 LENGTH: NORFOLK
Many of them had supported former Sheriff David K. Mapp Jr. because they knew he would continue a longstanding tradition of allowing smoking behind bars. While campaigning, McCabe had vowed to take a hard look at the smoking policy.
{REST} On Wednesday, McCabe circulated a memo to inmates and deputies confirming the fears of the men on the eighth floor: The Norfolk jail will go smoke-free on Dec. 1. It will be the last jail in Hampton Roads to do so.
``The main goal is health,'' McCabe said. ``There will be fewer calls to the fire department, fewer fires and a safer total environment. . . . We're one of the last remaining jails in the area and probably in the state to go smoke-free.''
Norfolk jailers met with cellblock representatives in recent months and told them of the change. There was little reaction from inmates on Wednesday.
``A lot of them have said, `Good,' '' McCabe said. ``They knew it was coming, and I think they realize we're doing it the best way we can. We aren't making them go cold turkey.''
McCabe said he plans to consult the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association to provide help during the transition. The jail administration will help wean inmates off cigarettes gradually by reducing the number of packs they can buy from the canteen, he said.
He also plans to provide educational films on closed-circuit television to help them kick the habit.
McCabe estimated that between 60 and 70 percent of the inmate population smokes. The canteen sells about 5,000 packs of cigarettes a month at $2.20 a pack.
The Virginia Beach jail banned smoking in December 1990 by gradually reducing the number of cigarettes inmates were allowed. The transition caused no problems there, authorities said.
But once cigarettes are no longer available for currency, inmates must find substitutes to use for barter. Food, laundry items and goods from the canteen are among the popular choices.
A few weeks ago, a single cigarette in the Virginia Beach jail sold for $17.50, or 35 canteen ``items,'' such as candy bars or bags of chips, said Major W.T. Mann, who oversees operations of the Virginia Beach jail.
``The staff doesn't officially recognize `item' as a monetary unit, but the inmates sure do,'' Mann said. ``It tells me the demand is much higher than the supply. We've seen it as low as $2 a cigarette, or four `items.' ''
{KEYWORDS} SMOKING NORFOLK CITY JAIL
by CNB