In the heat of summer, Maryland officials are snuffing out one of the few pleasures a state prisoner may still enjoy in his cell -- smoking.
Starting July 1, inmates will no longer be allowed to light up anywhere inside the state's 24 prisons, according to a directive issued by Bishop L. Robinson, secretary of the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
The policy was instituted to comply with the statewide workplace smoking ban that went into effect in March. Prison officials filed for a variance to the ban several months ago to buy time to work out a policy and get inmates used to the idea.
"There's going to be problems with this," said Nancy Moran, a volunteer with the Prisoners Aid Association of Maryland Inc., who frequently corresponds with prisoners. "It is a workplace for the officers, but it is a living place for the inmates."
Prisoners still will be able to smoke when they are outside for recreation or jobs. At some newer prisons, inmates walk outside regularly to get to and from dining areas, so their opportunities to smoke could be frequent. But they will not be able to step outside whenever the urge strikes.
At others -- like the state's highest security prison, Supermax -- convicts are rarely allowed outside.
About 52 percent of the state's more than 20,000 inmates are thought to be smokers.
Dr. Anthony Swetz, an assistant commissioner of the state Division of Correction, said that although some inmates may not be happy, they have not reacted violently to the approaching restrictions.
Still, he said, "it all worries me. Potential volatility, I think, with the addition of this [ban] is at its all-time high."
He expects litigation from prisoners who will argue that banning smoking in cells -- called one's "house" in prison vernacular -- violates their constitutional rights.
What's more, a reduction in cigarette sales at prison commissaries could deprive inmate programs of funds, leaving prisoners with more smokeless time to fill.
Commissary, or "prison store," sales benefit the Inmate Welfare Fund, which pays for unbudgeted activities and equipment. Cigarette sale proceeds make up a sizable portion of the fund, Dr. Swetz said.
Cigarettes will still be sold inside Maryland prisons for outdoor use, but sales are expected to go down.
Correctional officers, who have been prohibited from smoking in prisons since 1992, are elated, said Herbert Berry Jr. of the Maryland Correctional Union.
