Ban smoking in state prisons?

Even if you haven’t watched The Shawshank Redemption, you probably know that for years cigarettes were the coin of the realm in prisons.

Inmates traded them, swapped them with guards for favors, and, of course, smoked them. Some of those smokers in for long sentences eventually got sick, and state taxpayers covered their treatment.

In Florida, that’s about to end. Under new Department of Corrections Secretary Edwin Buss, state prisons are going smoke-free. Inmates will have six months to quit, with the state offering help. After that, it’s cold turkey. Guards will get isolated places on the grounds to smoke.

It’s hard to disagree with the change. All but the few wrongfully convicted inmates are inside for violating society’s rules. If those paying for prisoners’ care can’t get medical care, why should the inmates? The only question might be whether cigarettes just become another form of contraband, only with a higher value. It’s illegal, after all, to have illegal drugs and weapons in prisons, but both get in now. At Florida State Prison, a grisly display shows the homemade weapons that have been confiscated.

Mostly, though, we agree with the change. Inmates lose their freedoms while doing their time. We support the ban on smoking in Florida prisons. What do you think? Take our poll.