Smoking ban applies to state prisons

It's probably something no one thought about when they drafted the ballot question eliminating smoking in most public places as well as government buildings: prisons are government buildings.

Director of Corrections Glen Whorton thought about it and the attorney general's office confirmed that the ban eliminates the statutory exemption prisons have had allowing smoking.

"The advice from our AG is you can't smoke inside a state building, period," he said Monday. "This removes from statute the exemption so we're not going to allow people to smoke inside buildings - staff or inmates."

But Whorton said before inmates who smoke begin to panic, they will still be allowed to smoke outside in the prison yards.

"There are many states where smoking is not allowed anywhere (in prison)," he said. "We're not doing away with smoking entirely."

Whorton said, however, most inmates can't claim to be smokers when they arrive in the Nevada prison system because, he said, the major jail facilities they come from don't allow smoking.

"Inmates actually come to us as nonsmokers," he said.

He said this may raise the issue of a ban with lawmakers.

"We've had questions in the past from legislators on the effect of smoking on health-care costs of the department," he said.

The family member of one inmate said the ban was likely to bring lawsuits but Whorton said he wasn't seriously concerned about that. There's no such thing as a right to smoke.

Ballot Question 5, approved by 54 percent of voters in November, is already being challenged in court by owners of taverns and convenience stores.

• Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.