Smoking to be banned in prisons: British Government

“We believe that the ban on smoking in all Welsh prisons in January 2016 is nearly certainly as a result of the legal action we brought on behalf of our non-smoking client, based at HMP Parc in Bridgend, which highlighted that the different Regulations in Wales do not now allow smoking in prisons at all”.

Prisoners in open jails will be banned from smoking indoors from next month as the government moves to make all jails in England and Wales smoke free.

The Ministry of Justice announced the ban as the first stage of a national roll-out, and issued the findings of a scientific report showing prison officers were being exposed to “significant” amounts of second-hand smoke while on duty.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of health charity ASH, said: “In light of the high levels of tobacco smoke in prisons, we are pleased that prisons in England and Wales will finally be going smoke-free, something ASH has been calling for since 2005”.

Smoking will be banned in Exeter from next year, it has been revealed today.

Smoking bans are to be introduced in all jails in Wales from January and in four prisons in south west England, including Dartmoor, from March.

E-cigarettes are unaffected by the law, for those trying to quit.

Prisons Minister Andrew Selous said implementing smoke-free prisons was a “difficult thing to do” given the high prevalence of smoking and the “unique environment” of prisons, but the ban was necessary due to the UK’s smoking legislation and for health reasons.

“We have no plans to move to smoke-free prisons overnight and will only do so in a phased way that takes into account operational resilience and readiness of each prison”.

So, why are these changes being made?

Prisons across Canada and New Zealand, and parts of Australia are already smoke free.

From October 1 it will be illegal to smoke in a vehicle with anyone under 18 present – allowing children to avoid breathing in thousands of risky chemicals which continually risks their health.

The move follows a series of legal challenges by prison officers and inmates who have complained about the effects of passive smoking.

Peter Dawson, of the Prison Reform Trust, said a sensible and considered approach to smoking in prisons would leave prisoners with a choice – at least to smoke outside.