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.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel