Reducing smoking prevalence in Australian prisons: a review of policy options

Smoking of tobacco products is a major public health challenge in prison settings in most countries. Although tobacco use was tolerated by custodial authorities for many decades, the overwhelming evidence of the adverse public health effects of tobacco on both the smokers and those in the vicinity of exhaled or passive smoke, coupled with the risk of litigation by inmates involuntarily exposed to tobacco smoke, has recently prompted custodial authorities to implement tobacco control strategies to minimise both health and legal risks. The author examines the appropriateness of common policy initiatives put forward for reducing smoking prevalence in Australian prisons and suggests that, currently, apart from total prohibition and restriction on brands of tobacco, several policies and strategies may be utilised in combination to reduce smoking prevalence in prison settings, subject to their appraisal in terms of both effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, careful adaptation to prison conditions, and consistent implementation.