Prisoners and prison staff express increased support for prison smoking bans following implementation across Scotland: results from the Tobacco In Prisons study

Abstract

First paragraph: Several jurisdictions have introduced prison smoking bans, responding to concerns around the health of people in custody (hereafter ‘prisoner’ for brevity) and staff, legal challenges and maintenance costs1 2. Fears of disorder following bans are often expressed in advance.3-5 Although generally unfounded,6 7 such fears may reduce the stakeholder support that is vital for successful implementation.8 A complete prisoner smoking ban (staff smoking was already banned) was introduced in all 15 Scottish prisons in November 2018, precipitating no significant incidents.9 It has been evaluated by the three-phase Tobacco In Prisons study (TIPs).3 4 10 TIPs Phase 1 occurred before the ban’s announcement; Phase 2 following the announcement, but before policy implementation (during which rechargeable e-cigarettes became available to prisoners); and Phase 3 following implementation.