ALL Scottish prisoners will be forbidden from smoking while carrying out their sentences under new plans for Scottish jails to be smoke free by next year, it has been revealed.
Currently prisoners are able to smoke in their cells as long as doors are closed, as well as in some outdoor areas. However the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) yesterday confirmed that smoking and cigarettes will be completely banned across the prison estate by November 2018.
The SPS said it would ensure that its workers were no longer exposed to unacceptable levels of second-hand smoke and bring Scotland into line with other parts of the UK. However prison reform campaigners called for prisoners to be allowed to smoke outside, claiming the move could lead to significant distress for those addicted to tobacco and force cigarettes on to the prison’s “black market”.
The move comes as data from the large-scale Tobacco in Prisons Study (TIPS), also launched yesterday, showed a typical prison worker is exposed to levels of second-hand smoke broadly similar to those experienced by someone living with a smoker.
Colin McConnell, chief executive of SPS, said: “It is not acceptable that those in our care and those who work in our prisons should be exposed to second-hand smoke.” However as it is estimated that more than 75 percent of the prison population smoke, he acknowledged that the proposals would be “a significant challenge” to implement though smoking cessation and support programmes will be made available.
Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said that “a sensible and considered approach” would allow prisons to smoke outside. “If this is not part of the Scottish Government’s plans, there has to be proper support while people give up — not just smoking cessation aids, but increased vigilance for signs of distress that could easily turn into self-harm or worse,” he added.
“Prisons also need to ensure that tobacco does not become another illicit substance which is traded in prisons, leaving prisoners at increased risk of getting into debt and subject to violence and intimidation.”
The plans support the Scottish Government aims for a “tobacco-free generation” by 2034. Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Michael Matheson, said: “Second-hand smoke poses an unacceptably high risk to the health of prisoners, staff and visitors.”
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