On my 44th birthday, I was rushed to the infirmary at Everglades Correctional Institution (ECI) because I thought I was having a heart attack. The real problem was that I liked refried beans.
Although I exercise five days a week, I have high blood pressure and high cholesterol due to my poor eating habits. In the infirmary, the doctors treated me and prescribed me two new medications, but the root of my problem is still there: I can’t get healthy food in prison, even though I want to.
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- For the first time, Flagler County will ban legal tobacco use in and out of the workplace for new employees
- City of North Miami v. Kurtz: 1995 Florida Supreme Court Case on Anti-Tobacco Policy
- Use of underage volunteers at Sting, sheriff cites 4 of 22 stores illegally selling tobacco
- Synthetic Marijuana vs. Artificial Weed: What Is It, How Dangerous, And How Common Is It?
- Fight obesity like cigarettes
- The Florida Supreme Court is dismissing appeals from Big Tobacco’s multi-million dollar judgments
- Herman Cain’s Mark Block smokes a smoke campaign
- Reynolds Tobacco loses as US Supreme Court refuses to accept appeals in Florida cases
- Monitoring the Future, Survey 2012
Justice Department officials say they lifted the ban on tobacco products in layoff programs because they didn’t want inmates so close to completing their sentences having to come back after bars for violators against the rules.
Positive effects of the smoking ban in prisons
Smoking is also considered dangerous and unhealthy in the outside world, both for the smoker and for those around them who may inadvertently inhale the smoke. Prohibition in US prisons is significantly beneficial to the well-being of non-smokers. Also, those who are now addicted might seriously consider using the rehab programs on offer to stop their addiction. The absolute benefits of Prohibition include the following:
- Prohibition is the ideal way to stop cancer in prisons and jails; Research has found that half of smokers die from health complications related to their habit. In addition, inmates are more likely to die from smoking-related cancers than the general public. Allowing smoking in prisons also endangers the health of non-smoking inmates, staff and even incoming visitors. Since the ban went into effect a year later, the number of smoking-related illnesses in US prisons has declined significantly.
- The ban favors non-smokers who can now breathe fresh air; it is too difficult for a non-smoker to share the same cell with a smoker. Not only is your health at risk, the air quality is also unattractive.
- Prohibition is an inmate’s first step toward rehabilitation. Making it difficult or impossible for inmates to smoke while incarcerated is the ideal way to encourage them to undertake rehabilitation programs such as drug and substance abuse programs.
- Helps stop smoking-related diseases; the ban has helped to significantly reduce the number of diseases caused by smoking.