Prisoners advised to meditate, play games as Australian prisons ban smoking

An Australian prison authority told inmates to distract themselves from smoking withdrawals by doing cross-words, meditating or doing sit-ups while attempting to avoid a repeat prison riot as cigarette smoking bans take force.

From August 10, smoking will be banned in all New South Wales ( NSW) prisons, following on from bans in other Australian states, including Victoria where 300 inmates at the Melbourne Remand Center staged a 15-hour riot in June, forcing heavily armed officers to subdue the masked inmates carrying sticks smashing doors, windows and lighting fires.

Some of the suggested activities to detract from withdrawals advised by authorities include writing to a loved one, dreaming about their future, meditating, praying or doing some sit-ups.

"So the inmates are going to be told 'why don't you distract yourself with a game' - this is not a schoolyard, these are hardened criminals," NSW opposition corrective services spokesman Guy Zangari told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Wednesday.

"We're not advocating smoking but we want the government to tell us what its plan is for security in jails once this ban comes into effect, particularly after the riot in Victoria."

Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin said the list is a small part of the department's overall strategy.

"This is not a strategy to deal with people who are angry or who are acting out," he said. "We have nicotine replacement therapy, we have a whole range of measures including a strong security component," Severin said.

Some 75 percent of NSW prison population smoke cigarettes, Severin said, adding "Eighty-five percent of those have indicated that they would like to stop smoking but they find it impossible to do so in an environment where everyone else smokes." Endi