Canada: Doubts on Blanket Ban on Smoking in Prisons

Source from:  ABC News  06/25/2013

The argument against the NSW Government's proposed smoking ban in jails is picking up speed.

Smoking will be prohibited in all Australian prisons by 2015 but not everyone is convinced it is a good idea.

Professor Simon Chapman is an internationally recognised campaigner for tobacco control.

But even he thinks a total ban on smoking in prisons is unnecessarily harsh.

"While a number of my colleagues are all for seeing smoking totally banned in prisons, I would draw the line at that and say that it should be totally banned inside prisons but not in the yards," he said.

Kirsti Miller is a former prison warden at the Broken Hill Correctional Centre.

She says it is poorly ventilated and is one jail that should ban smoking inside.

But Ms Miller says a blanket ban on all prisons is stupid.

She says say the ban should be tailored to suit each prison's individual needs.

"Each jail has to be treated a little bit differently depending on he architectural structure," she said.

"Particularly Broken Hill - it's only got the one main cell block in the maximum area and there's no ventilation.

"When the staff open the cells in the morning it's horrendous the tobacco smoke that comes out with the other bodily odours." Enditem