Gevangenen roken nicotinepleisters
Gevangenen in de rookvrije gevangenis van Calgary kunnen blijkbaar erg inventief zijn. Ze weten wel raad met de aan hun door de gevangenis verstrekte nicotinepleisters: haal het plakkende deel er af, kook wat overblijft, doe er WC-papier bij, droog het geheel en rol het daarna in een bladzijde uit de gratis verstrekte bijbel. Geen lucifers? Ook geen probleem. Een vonkje is altijd wel in de buurt of makkelijk te maken door een paar kabeltjes in een stopcontact te duwen en deze dicht bij elkaar te brengen. Soms worden aanstekers binnengesmokkeld in lichaamsholten.
Inmiddels hebben 21 bewakers zich ziek gemeld, doordat ze onwel werden van de stank en de dampen, zijn het aantal verwondingen door electriciteit sterk toegenomen en ontstaan regelmatig brandjes in het complex.
En raad eens welke oplossing wordt overwogen? Verbieden van nicotinepleisters!
CALGARY – Innovative inmates craving tobacco are smoking nicotine patches despite a smoking ban in Alberta jails and guards say the fumes are making them sick.
When tobacco was banished from correctional facilities 19 months ago, prisoners started making homemade cigarettes from Nicoderm patches, according to documents obtained by the Calgary Herald.
The recipe, recorded in Alberta Correctional Service documents, is simple.
Peel the adhesive nicotine strip from the patch, boil in water, place toilet paper in solution and stir. Dry, add small pieces of hardened orange peels if desired, then roll in paper ripped out of Bibles.
No matches? No problem.
Inmates light up with sparks from tubes on fluorescent lights or electrical outlets by turning two pieces of wire or lead from pencils into prongs, or by using wicks made from toilet paper.
Sometimes retail lighters are “suitcased” into jail they’re smuggled in by concealing them in a body cavity.
“The smoking ban has created brand-new problems we didn’t anticipate and plan for,” said Dan MacLennan, president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees.
Inmates have suffered burns and injuries from electric shock, there’s a constant fire hazard from the smoldering toilet paper wicks, and 21 corrections officers are on sick leave or workers’ compensation because of contaminants from the patch cigarettes.
Breathing problems have started to affect one guard so badly his doctor placed him on two inhalers, says a Nov. 15 internal report.
AUPE has appealed for a complete ban of Nicoderm patches in all Alberta jails. The patches replaced cigarettes when smoking was banned in October 2004.
The issue is under review, said Annette Bidniak, spokeswoman for the Solicitor General’s office.
Bidniak echoed the safety concerns.
“A year and a half ago, at the start of the smoking ban, a few inmates received shocks when they tampered with the light switches,” she said.
A chemical analysis of the nicoderm cigarettes requested by corrections officers at the Edmonton Remand Centre showed high levels of 18 chemicals, including:
– Acetone, which can cause liver damage; irritation to eyes, nose, throat and lungs; and cause headaches, nausea and confusion;
– Benzene, which is highly flammable and in high doses can cause depression, tremors, convulsions and death;
– Furan, which may be fatal if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin;
– Methylfuran, which in large doses or extended exposure can irreparably damage lungs;
– Methylpentane, which can cause headaches, feelings of intoxication, unconsciousness, even coma.
Patches are available in the prison canteen at the regular market price, which hovers around $30 for a week’s supply of seven. Prisoners are limited to a week’s worth and inmates who don’t smoke are strong-armed into buying patches for other inmates.
Cut-up patches sell for $5 a quarter on the prison black market.
Blijkbaar zijn nicotinepleisters ook niet zo veilig als je de verzameling chemicaliën erin zo op een rijtje zien staan….
