Tobacco.org

ASH workers say tobacco, gangs triggered lockdown  

Tobacco smuggled into Atascadero State Hospital by staff last month, paired with a possible gang rivalry among patients, is what caused a lockdown that remained in place Monday, marking what one employee said was the longest lockdown at the facility in recent memory among veteran staffers.

The lockdown, in which patients are kept inside their sleeping and living units, was sparked by several incidents March 20 involving both patients and employees, and an investigation is under way, ASH spokesman Craig Dacus previously said. According to ASH employees, the lockdown was caused by staffers who brought tobacco, considered a form of contraband, into the facility. The incident apparently resulted in a search for tobacco and four arrests of nonmedical staffers.

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Smoking ban led to prison riot, court hears  

A riot at a detention centre was partially triggered by an officer who banned inmates from smoking because he had quit and wanted them to "follow in his footsteps", a court heard yesterday.

Eleven men have been charged with arson and causing more than Dh200,000 worth of damage during the disturbance at the facility in Al Qusais on December 8 last year.

Trouble initially flared when a police captain, accompanied by about 20 officers, carried out an inspection of Ward B of the detention unit, which triggered a scuffle between the prisoners and officers, prosecutors said.

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• Eight who set fire to detention centre over cigarettes jailed  

Eight inmates have been sentenced to three years in jail for setting fire to a detention centre after being refused cigarettes.

The five Emirati nationals, an Iranian, a Pakistani and a Sri Lankan were all accused of risking the lives of other detainees and police officers at Al Rafaa Police Station.

It was the culmination of a protest that had started with a hunger strike on August 17. The men were demanding cigarettes and the right to make phone calls until 2am.

The following day, they covered the detention centre's surveillance cameras with paper and toothpaste, then started a fire using a battery and a wire.

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Prison-bound children's treats packed with marijuana, tobacco 

Native American inmates challenge S.D. prison tobacco ban in lawsuit  

Los Angeles distributor gets prison term for tobacco tax fraud  

Native American Inmates Challenge South Dakota Prison Tobacco Ban In Federal Lawsuit 

• GUYDISH: Opinion: Anti-smoking effort for substance abusers is 'anemic'  

Inaction on smoking in these populations is systemic, reaching beyond the individual smoker to the treatment programs, the state agencies that pay for those programs and the national agencies that set and shape treatment priorities.

There are some bright spots, notably state agencies in New York and Oregon, that are aggressively addressing smoking in these populations. There's also the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center, which works with state and professional leadership groups.

These efforts, representing local successes, pale in comparison to the scope of smoking in vulnerable populations.

It is time now for national leadership, direction, priority and funding to better address smoking in substance abuse, mental health and criminal justice populations. And I call on the various health and regulatory agencies and the field of tobacco control to do so.

If we want to further reduce prevalence of smoking in the United States, we must come to where the smokers are.

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• South Dakota inmate group wants tobacco ban lifted 

A group of Native American inmates has filed a federal lawsuit against the South Dakota Department of Corrections, saying a new prison policy that bans the use of tobacco during religious ceremonies is discriminatory.

The Native American Council of Tribes, an organization based at the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls, asked the U.S. District Court to prevent the policy from being enforced. Inmate Blaine Brings Plenty, the group's chairman, said in the complaint that for Native American prayer to be effective, "it must be embodied in 'tobacco' and offered within a ceremonial framework."

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‘Smoking ban was our best decision’  

Prisoners toyi-toyi for tobacco 

House proposal would take tobacco out of prisons (AUDIO) 

VIDEO: Guernsey's prison is going smoke free. 

More Jail Time for Smokers 

Both are now facing additional charges for trafficking contraband in a correctional facility.

The smell of cigarette smoke leads to more jail time for two Saline County inmates.

According to Sheriff Glen Kochanowski, Saturday evening, officers in the jail followed the smell of cigarette smoke to a pod where 37-year-old Macario Maldonado was being held.

After a short interview, Maldonado produced a lighter and cigarettes that he had hidden in his rectum.

Further investigation led officers to talk with 21-year-old Kyle Kirby.

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Cigarettes: The Most Stable International Currency 

In China, where giving and sharing cigarettes is customary and a large percentage of people smoke, luxury cigarettes have become a common currency for bribery. “Because of corruption, you cannot do business, in effect, you can do nothing, if you don’t send gifts to those in power,” states an editorial from Xinhua News.

The latest smokes-for-sway news may be setting off uproar on the Chinese Internet, but this is far from the only time, or the only country, where cigarettes have acted as a talisman where cash would be too obvious—just look at U.S. prisons. . . .

Jails are not the only place where cigarettes have been as good as cash. In poverty stricken areas, certain brands can carry enormous cachet, especially since they not subject to devaluation and are an accessible (and legal) form of payment. In Romania in the 1980s Kent cigarettes (no other brand would do) were reportedly used to bribe doctors to treat sick children, skip in line, get a better cut of meat, and obtain rare or elite products and services. The cigarettes would circulate for so long that they went stale—but they were never meant to be smoked in the first place.

When Germany’s currency the Reichmark was weakened after World War II, cigarettes were commonly used in barters for a couple of years

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