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Smoking to be banned in British prisons: gov't reveals

Xinhua, September 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

Smoking is to be banned in prisons in England and Wales, Britain's Prisons Minister Andrew Selous announced Tuesday evening.

Smoking is currently permitted in prison cells and exercise yards, but the government plans to introduced a phased program in January which will eventually lead to smoking being prohibited in all 136 prisons.

The government cites the health risks of smoking, though there have been a number of legal challenges by prison officers and some prisoners who have complained about the effects of passive smoking.

With a prison population of around 80,000 it is not yet known how prisoners will react to the proposed outright ban.

The Prison Governors Association, which represents prison officers, supports the ban, and says it will monitor the introduction of the ban.

Details of the ban were outlined in a letter from Selous to MP Robert Neill, who chairs Parliament's Justice Select Committee.

The minister says his department intends to implement a phased smoke free policy in prisons, starting with all prisons in Wales from January 2016, with four English prisons becoming smoke-free three months later.

Selous commented: "Since the introduction of smoking legislation in 2007, our desire has been to move towards smoke free prisons but, given the high prevalence of smoking and the unique environment of prisons, implementing smoke free prisons is a difficult thing to do."

National policy currently allows prisoners to smoke in their cells but not in communal areas.

Measures already introduced ahead of the outright ban include the recent roll out of electronic cigarettes to all prisons.

Selous added: "Recent academic studies have identified high levels of second hand smoke in some communal areas are still prevalent in some prisons. These findings have reinforced our commitment to move towards smoke free prisons as soon as possible in a safe and controlled way."

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