A Virginia inmate filed a civil rights action, pro se, pursuant to 42 U.S.C., sec. 1983, alleging, inter alia, that his Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment was violated by the Defendants, due to his exposure to secondhand smoke in prison.  The court granted summary judgment for the defendants, ruling that “Blount has failed to proffer sufficient evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that he suffered a serious injury as a result of the tobacco smoke.”  The court noted that “there is no evidence that Blount sought medical treatment during the time period at issue or that his asthma required additional medication beyond that which he was already taking.”  Moreover, “the record does not support a finding that the institutional defendants were both aware of and disregarded a serious injury or risk of serious harm.”

2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21215 (U.S.D.C. W.D. Va.).