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Radio
NZ News.
All New Zealand
prisons will be smokefree within a year.
The Government has
announced a total ban on smoking to take effect from 1 July 2011. The ban
also extends to lighters and matches.
More than two-thirds of
prisoners are smokers and the ban is expected to affect about 5700
inmates.
There will be a year-long
campaign to help prisoners quit smoking, including an education programme
and access to patches and nicotine replacements.
At present prisoners are
allowed to smoke in their cells and in designated outside areas. But the
Corrections Minister, Judith Collins, says smoking is a serious health
risk to inmates and staff.
"We have 3500 staff
who every day get exposed to secondhand smoke at levels which are far
more than if they were living in the home of a smoker."
She says she is very
concerned about potential health problems among prison staff.
Ms Collins says banning
matches and lighters will make prisons safer, because inmates won't be
able to use them to fashion weapons or thrown at guards.
Ms Collins says the Government may yet face
lawsuits from staff and inmates objecting to being exposed to secondhand
smoke.
2006 situation
Summary: As of
2006, prisons minimize inmates’ and staff exposure to unwanted
cigarette smoke “as far as reasonably practical.” To further
protect nonsmokers, the next step is to stop tobacco coming into the
prison - rather than ban smoking. Such a ban on tobacco in prisons is not
government priority at present, and would require a special support programme
to assist staff and inmates. Smokefree prisons
require a dedicated support programme, legislative change, and a
government or member’s bill to promote it.
The Smoke-free Environments
Act amended in 2003, at section 6A, permits smoking in prisons, but
requires the superintendent to ensure a written policy on smoking in
prison’s cells, for protection of employees and inmates, that
enshrines the principles that as far as is reasonably practical, inmate
and employees be protected 1) against unwanted second hand smoke, and 2)
against an inmate having to share the cell with a smoker.
In effect, smoking is
permitted in prison outdoor areas and in many cells, but not in common
indoor areas for either inmates or staff. A ban on smoking in cells would
impinge severely on those inmates locked in their cells for the maximum
23 hours per day. In correctional facilities for adolescents, smoking is
not permitted.
Surveys show that 83% of
inmates have abused or been dependent on alcohol or other drugs. Most
inmates smoke. The increasing prisoner census (over 5000 in 2003, now
8000), increases the pressure to put two in one cell, as does the
increasing proportion locked down 23 hours a day. Cells in older prisons
have poor ventilation for smoke.
Implementation pointers
·
Lead-in
programmes involving the issuing of nicotine
patches and gum can involve considerable expenditure, but this is much
cheaper than provoking a riot.
anada. Canadian prisons in 2006 banned smoking in all
indoor areas and cells, permitting smoking outdoors They
led into this gradually, over a long period, providing nicotine
replacement and assisting inmates to stop smoking.
USA: Smoking is banned in Federal and many state
prisons. Increasing numbers of correctional facilities
in the United
States
have become smoke-free and made tobacco, matches, and lighters
contraband. Most experience so far has not shown the feared
difficulties arising when facilities become completely
tobacco-free. Most programmes note that the
issues around staff tobacco use at the facility are more
challenging than those around prisoners' use. Some
states, such as Delaware, allow other tobacco products, like snuff or
chew. Others, such as Florida, allow inmates to smoke in designated areas
outside.
In 2004 77% of US facilities disallowed tobacco use
for prisoners, although 79% of them allow staff to use tobacco
on the premises2; various programmes
have noted some difficulty resulting from this. The transition
process is not minimal, and some programmes
have reported difficulties, including amplification of
discontent among prisoners and staff. During the transition
period some programmes have made nicotine replacement
therapy available…
1) Lincoln T, Chavez RS, Elizabeth Langmore-Avila, E.Letter,
BMJ 2005;331:1473 (17 December),
doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7530.1473-c
2)
Gregg Zoroya USA Today 21 July 2004.
Smoking in secure facilities in psychiatric
institutions See
www.endsmoking.org.nz/psychiatric.htm
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