Scottish prisons smoking ban
University of Glasgow partnered with the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to support delivery and evaluation
of an evidence-based smoking ban across all 15 Scottish prisons (approximately 4,000 staff and 8,200 people in custody).
Air quality monitoring showed that levels of secondhand smoke were reduced by 80% immediately after the ban, and by 91% at 6 months.
Health economic analyses supported cost-effectiveness of the smoke-free policy.
Problem
Smoking in enclosed public spaces was prohibited by law throughout Scotland in March 2006 to protect non-smokers from exposure to secondhand smoke.
Scotland’s prisons were exempt from this legislation, meaning that secondhand smoke present in cells, landings, halls, and other communal areas posed a risk to health for both prison staff and people in custody.
Research
To address this issue, the Scottish Government called for a ban on smoking in its prisons as part of a wider ambition to create a tobacco-free generation of Scots by 2034.
In March 2015, SPS announced that it would direct a Scotland-wide Tobacco Strategy Workstream to develop a joint action plan with external partners, including University of Glasgow, University of Stirling, NHS Health Scotland (now Public Health Scotland) and the Scottish Government.
University of Glashow led the three-phase, multi-method Tobacco in Prisons study, exploring the periods before, during, and after development and implementation of a smoke-free policy in Scottish prisons (2016–2020). Phase 1 showed:
- A 74% prevalence of smoking among people in custody.
- High occupational secondhand smoke exposures among prison staff, similar to those experienced in bars before the introduction of the 2006 Scottish smoke-free laws.
- Support for a smoking ban among both prison staff and people in custody, with around half of people in custody who were current smokers wanting to quit.
- The critical factors for successful implementation of a prison smoking ban, including access to objective measures of secondhand smoke exposure; effective and timely communication; and enhanced training and support.
Activities
Previous prison-based research had established a relationship between University of Glasgow and SPS, including a shared interest in prisoner smoking and health. Our researchers presented plans for Tobacco in Prisons at a SPS Tobacco Strategy Workstream meeting in April 2015.
They were then commissioned to undertake a literature review to inform the decision-making process for a smoke-free policy in Scottish prisons.
A service-wide smoking ban was announced by the SPS Chief Executive at a joint press conference with University of Glasgow in July 2017, which coincided with publication of the second hand smoke exposure data.
University of Glasgow researchers were members of the Scottish Prisons Service Smoke-Free Prisons Stakeholder Advisory Group. Tobacco in Prisons findings on behaviours, attitudes, and culture changes around smoking cessation were regularly communicated to this group ahead of the ban coming into force.
Outputs
The literature review provided a comprehensive evidence base around prison smoking and smoking bans to guide policy making.
Tobacco in Prisons produced the largest dataset of secondhand smoke exposures from any prison service worldwide, including measurement of fine particulate matter, airborne nicotine, and biological markers of exposure. The findings highlighted the scale of the problem in Scottish prisons.
Outcomes
The literature review informed SPS on how best to move towards the introduction of a smoke-free prisons policy in Scotland. It also provided key evidence to support an SPS strategy paper that was submitted to the Scottish Government in February 2016. This document recommended a service-wide smoking ban, an approach that was accepted by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice.
The secondhand smoke exposure data provided a call for rapid action, and supported the decision taken by SPS that all 15 Scottish prisons should become smoke-free on 30 November 2018.
Impact
Implementation of the smoking ban in 2018 fulfilled the Scottish Government’s commitment to achieve smoke-free prison facilities by 2034.
Secondhand smoke levels in Scotland’s prisons were reduced by 80% immediately after implementation of the smoke-free policy, and by 91% at 6 months.
Secondhand smoke exposures among approximately 4,000 prison staff and 8,200 people in custody are now similar to those found in most smoke-free environments.
Furthermore, the smoking ban ended the inequity of prison staff experiencing occupational secondhand smoke exposure, a situation that had been illegal in almost all other Scottish workplaces since 2006.
Total costs were found to be lower with the smoke-free policy than without it for both people in custody (GBP32,848 vs GBP33,749) and prison staff (GBP10,462 vs GBP11,183).