Prison service reveals smoke-free jail plans
SMOKING will be prohibited in Scotland’s jails by the end of next year under plans announced by prison chiefs.
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) says it intends to make all jails north of the border “smokefree” by November, next year.
The move is designed to tackle the “unacceptably high risk” posed to the health of prisoners, staff and visitors by passive smoking.
The announcement was accompanied by the launch of a major report on prison workers’ exposure to second-hand smoke.
The large-scale study led by the University of Glasgow – described as the most comprehensive analysis of its kind in the world - found workers’ exposure to such smoke is similar to that experienced by someone living in a typical smoking home in Scotland.
SPS Chief Executive Colin McConnell said: “This report is a call to action. It is not acceptable that those in our care and those who work in our prisons should be exposed to second-hand smoke.
“We have already put measures in place to reduce this risk by insisting that prisoners close their cell doors when they are smoking, thereby reducing the exposure of that smoke to others.
“We have also modified our daily working practices to reduce this secondary exposure.
“However, the fact remains that the only way to remove this risk is to remove smoking from our prisons, so I am today committing the SPS to achieving a smoke-free prison estate by the end of 2018.”
Mr McConnell said it will be a “significant challenge” to achieve the aim, with the percentage of people smoking in prisons much higher than in the wider community. Data suggests nearly threequarters (72 per cent) of prisoners in Scotland smoke.
The Scottish Government has endorsed the SPS proposal, believing it will contribute to its ambition of creating a “tobaccofree generation” by 2034.
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said: “Last week I launched our vision and priori- ties for justice, which included a clear commitment to improve health and wellbeing in justice settings. Smoke-free prisons will play an important part in achieving that.”
But smokers’ rights group Forest called for the plan to be abandoned.
Director Simon Clark said: “Allowing inmates to smoke in their cells poses no significant risk to prison officers.”