Irony not missed in smoke deal

An online dictionary defines the essential feature of irony as “the indirect presentation of a contradiction between an action or expression and the context in which it occurs.”

A good example of irony would be the State of Louisiana’s legal position in joining with 45 other states several years ago in suing the big tobacco companies. Then-Attorney General Richard Ieyoub claimed, was spending inordinate amounts of state revenue treating tobacco-related illnesses among indigent citizens at the state’s charity hospitals.

Joining in the lawsuit was a logical and justified means of recovering some of the state’s costs of treating heart and lung disease, diabetes, cancer, tooth and gum disease, and various other ailments afflicting the state’s poor smokers. It even made sense when state buildings established designating smoking rooms in the early 1990s and then later abolished smoking altogether, forcing those unwilling to kick the habit to trudge outside in heat, cold, and rain to get their nicotine fix.

The 46 states and several U.S. territories eventually reached a settlement of about $206 billion with Louisiana slated to receive $4.6 billion as its share of the settlement.

Louisiana received its first check of $104 million in December of 1999. Last year the state’s share was $175.5 million and the 2010 payment of an as yet undetermined amount is due later this month.

That explains the justification. Now for the irony.

On June 16 of this year, the Louisiana Department of Corrections (DOC) awarded contracts to three separate vendors for the purchase of more than $6.1 million in tobacco products for resale to inmates across the state. And that was only for a six-month supply.

Two of the three vendors who were awarded contracts, two are from Texas. Rudy Love Distributing Co. of Huntsville, Texas, had a low bid of $1,002,450 and Price & Co. of Beaumont, Texas, submitted a low bid of $84,631.75. Lyons Specialty Co. of Port Allen tied with an out-of-state firm on its bid of $5,025,220, but was awarded the contract because it is a Louisiana firm, according to DOC spokesperson Pam LaBorde.

The three firms were low bidders on 16 separate items on which bids were opened on June 14, two days before the contracts were awarded.

LaBorde said that DOC and Prison Enterprises (PE) recoups the full amount of the tobacco items purchased off the bids by selling the products to prisoners at a markup, “plus the applicable sales taxes by parish and city or town where the correctional center is located.” She added that prices will vary somewhat because of local taxes.

“When placed out for bid, the amounts reflected in the bid are estimates of usage for the six-month contract period,” LaBorde said. “The amount purchased fluctuates based on the demand.” She said that items are delivered on an as-needed basis and facilities are not required to purchase the full amount as estimated in the contract.

“These proceeds are used to offset the cost of the items, the bidding of the items, the storage, warehousing, other overhead, and delivery to each facility as well as to recoup the necessary salary funds of the correctional officers who provide the canteen service. These canteen services are provided to the offender population as self-generated program(s),” she added.

So much for recovering the costs of purchasing tobacco products for the prisoners. Every contingency, it seems, is covered.

Except … except, oh yes, medical care for the state’s indigent population. And who in Louisiana is more indigent than prison inmates?

No one. And bear in mind that Louisiana has the largest prison population in the U.S.

And where are prison inmates treated for their smoking-related illnesses?

At the state’s charity hospitals, that’s where.

And who pays for their treatment?

Since the cost of medical treatment is not factored into the equation, i.e. the price prisoners pay for tobacco products, that would be you and me, the Louisiana taxpayers.

Irony.