WE already know that smoking is common in prison but now we know something else as well, thanks to a new study: non-smoking prisoners and staff are being subjected to high levels of second-hand smoke – the equivalent, in fact, of someone who lives with a smoker.

More than ten years on from the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces in Scotland, it is hard to see how such a situation can be acceptable. Bar workers, most nurses and doctors, office staff and almost every other worker you care to mention are protected from passive smoking, and yet prison staff and inmates are not.

In defence of the relatively lax approach, it is sometimes pointed out that 75 per cent of inmates smoke but that means 25 per cent do not – in other words, one in four prisoners is being subjected to an avoidable health risk that is not of their making. Quite rightly, the Scottish Prison Service says it intends to change the position and ban all smoking from November 2018 onwards.

However, the policy, while the right thing to do, has to strike a balance: those who do smoke must be given support, advice and nicotine replacement; the policy should also be monitored once it is up and running to ensure it is working. The health of prisoners and staff who do not smoke has to be protected, but if it is to work in the long term, the non-smoking policy also needs to be introduced carefully and with respect.