Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in The Warrior Standard, a newspaper written and edited by women in the Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Taft. It is a program of the Prison Newspaper Project through the Tulsa-based nonprofit Poetic Justice.
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections introduced nicotine pouches and single-use vapes in February at the canteen, becoming the first in the nation to do so.
Juliana Abila, a resident of Eddie Warrior Correctional Center, purchased and started to use pouches on a daily basis. After a short time, she noticed agitation and all-day cravings. No matter how much she used, the feelings remained.
Abila became motivated to quit after her sister mentioned gum disease and other health issues as a result of nicotine pouches.
“Quitting is no fun. It takes dedication, and I had to quit cold turkey,” Abila said. “I had to keep reminding myself, ‘The side effects I have while using are the same as when I’m quitting.’ The difference is when I quit, the side effects eventually went away.”
Abila had been a routine smoker from a young age, having quit multiple times. She identified social settings, decompression and ritual as the main reasons for using tobacco products. Those reasons established an emotional connection to nicotine and tobacco use.
For 20 years, ODOC banned tobacco products and in doing so, nicotine. While tobacco use is still prohibited in facilities, it is the nicotine in these alternative products creating the drive to use.
A statement from ODOC earlier this year said Director Justin Farris “believes the sales will reduce introduction of contraband, cut down on illegal tobacco use, and help curb cravings.”
Making the products more readily available may assist with the first two goals. However, it may have created the opportunity for new and relapsing users when they might otherwise have never used nicotine.
Nicotine is considered highly addictive and linked to many medical conditions, according to information on the websites of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The health risks are ranked with combustibles, like cigarettes, as most harmful because they contain carcinogens and over 7,000 harmful chemicals. Vaping is perceived as a safer option, but the aerosol can still be inhaled deep into the lungs and contains harmful chemicals.
Also, vaping is still fairly new, requiring more research on the short- and long-term effects.
“Debt equals violence in prison. We are thinking we are going to reduce some of the contraband … and reduce some of the violence at the same time,” stated Farris earlier this year.
Inmates are required to take classes, many aimed at drug addiction.
“We have introduced nicotine to the yard, but will ODOC assist in quitting for those who become addicted?” asks Stacey Goad, an inmate at Eddie Warrior. “Will lesser milligram patches or lozenges become available in the future?”
Goad had been a regular smoker who quit prior to her incarceration. When pouches became available at the canteen, she picked up a pack. After a few months, she wants to quit.
“I want to quit again, but it’s harder to quit nicotine than it is quitting with drug withdrawals,” Goad said.
New prison nicotine products
Jail Puff single-use vapes: $11.50, nicotine amount undetermined
HYPPE 20-count pouches: $10.50, 8 mg nicotine per pouch
For comparison, a person inhales about 1.1 mg to 1.8 mg nicotine per cigarette. Inmates are limited to three products per week.
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