Antis suddenly become Rehab Experts

[jamie]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/..._in_rehab.html

State prohibits smoking in rehab

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tuesday, July 22nd 2008, 1:01 PM

ALBANY, N.Y. - Drug addicts, gamblers and alcoholics trying to kick their habits in treatment facilities won't be allowed to use tobacco under a new regulation that goes into effect across New York state this week.

The change takes effect Thursday, making New York the strictest state in the country when it comes to prohibiting tobacco use among people under treatment for addiction.

Dianne Henk, a spokeswoman for the New York Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, says people who enter treatment won't be able to use tobacco anywhere — or even give a ride to a friend who is smoking.

An $8 million grant from the New York Department of Health will help train employees to deal with treating nicotine dependence and provide free nicotine replacements.

© Copyright 2008 NYDailyNews.com

[Nazareth]

Swell, let's make it twice as impossible for addicts to give up not one drug cold turkey, but two at hte same time- What brilliant genious htought htis up? that person shoudl be deprived of food for a month- after all, food can be concidered a drug because it stimulates hormones in the brain!

[TropicalBob]

That's sad. Counterproductive, too.

When I was working on a magazine story in January, I exchanged e-mails with Dr. Brad Radu, the main U.S. proponent of harm reduction. He told me of cigarettes being banned in Colorado prisons. The result? A wild black market. Even guards found new money in smuggling cigarettes into the prisons and selling them to prisoners. Families didn't bring hacksaw blades; they brought cigarettes. Cigarettes became the New Currency of Convicts. Everyone lost, he said.

[NerdyCinderella]

Yeah, I see real problems developing here.
I wonder if they did any studies before changing these rules.

There are going to be many addicts who won't go into treatment when they are told they can't smoke.

They are ambivalent re going for treatment from the start anyhow. This will tip the scale to the negative.

[dnakr]

I agree, many addicts will not go into treatment because of this. I wonder how much money the facilities will have to lose before they again re-think the situation.

[Kate]

A case has recently been lost in the UK by some patients wanting to be able to smoke in psychiatric hospitals. It was ruled that because the hospital wasn't their home they were not entitled to smoke there. Residents in old peoples homes and in prisons can smoke in their rooms but if you have mental health problems and have to be in hospital you can't smoke anymore. That seems nightmarish to me, having a breakdown and being made to go cold turkey at the same time.

Apparently about seventy percent of psychotics smoke (Smoking and mental health). It's thought that there is something in nicotine that helps to maintain better mental health. The self medication of this condition with nicotine is what keeps many people with mental health problems from becoming ill. Somebody thought it was a good idea to ban smoking from the hospitals that are supposed to help ... makes my blood boil.

[Nazareth]

There is legislation right now in U.S congress to 'allow' states to regulate tobacco with apparent overwhelming support in both camps- While Tobacco can't be regulated, and nicotine can't be banned- other chemicals in cigarettes can be banned which essentially means that cigarettes will be banned, or that we'll be charged huge sums for them due ot hte chemicals in them apparently- I just read abotu htis htis morning. President Bush oppses the measure, but it appears that it will go through- Say what you want about President Bush but he has show time and time again that he is agaisnt extreme left liberal do-gooder legislations like htis piece of dog doo legislation up before congress now. Don't want to turn htis into political thread, but just wanted to give a heads up to U.S folks abotu hwat's goign on behind the scenes regardign tobacco

[CaSHMeRe]

Interesting Naz ... do you have a link to this Press Release?

[Nazareth]

I read it in 'the post star' which is also available online- I'll see if I can find the link

[Nazareth]

got it:

The bill would give the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate cigarettes and other tobacco products, to reduce the harm from smoking. Although the government would not be able to outlaw tobacco or ban nicotine, regulators could demand elimination of other hazardous ingredients in cigarettes. The bill represents a compromise between anti-tobacco activists and Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest tobacco company.

Bush administration opposes tobacco regulation - International Herald Tribune