AUGUSTA (AP) – The “no smoking” signs will soon be going up at the Riverview Psychiatric Center.

Attorney Peter Darvin, who represents patients at the state mental hospital who smoke, says he doubts whether a Superior Court ruling that allows the ban to go forward will be appealed.

“Even though I think we had a meritorious case, we do not think we have any reasonable likelihood of success on appeal,” Darvin said Wednesday. “This is the kind of case that needs to be won before the trial judge because of the standards used when it’s heard on appeal.”

While acknowledging that hospital officials are trying to improve patient health, Darvin said forcing tobacco withdrawal on patients who may be held against their will is unfair and violates a court-ordered consent decree that allows patients to determine conditions of their own treatment.

A court master overseeing the consent decree approved the ban in July, and Superior Court Justice Nancy Mills affirmed that decision last month.

While noting that 66 percent of Riverview patients smoke and 85 percent to 95 percent of them oppose a smoking ban, Mills said the health benefits of outlawing tobacco outweigh patient opposition.

Riverview Superintendent David Proffitt has said he plans to appoint a hospital committee composed of patients and staff to help determine how the new smoking ban will be enforced.

Proffitt said patients have reacted calmly to the prospect of a ban, but Darvin isn’t so sure. He predicted a surge of smuggling, similar to what happened after smoking was banned at the state’s other psychiatric hospital, in Bangor.

Darvin predicted a difficult transition and suggested that the hospital may ultimately regret moving ahead with a ban.

“People have enough on their plate when they come to a facility like Riverview, and quitting smoking shouldn’t be one of their burdens,” he said.

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