Mo. lawmakers propose to ban tobacco use anywhere on prison grounds

Publication Date: 2011-02-17

• Publication:fox4kc.com

Some Missouri lawmakers want to snuff out cigarettes at state prisons.

Bills filed recently in both the Missouri House and Senate would prohibit smoking or the use of tobacco products anywhere on the grounds of state correctional facilities.

One of the sponsors is Republican Sen. Jim Lembke of St. Louis, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee. He says the proposed tobacco ban is a financial issue.

Lembke says the cost of medical care for prisoners has risen significantly. And he says two chief causes are cardiac problems and cancer, which are associated with tobacco use.

According to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation, 13 states currently prohibit the use of all tobacco products both indoors and outdoors on the grounds of correctional facilities.