Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Smokin*

Just to state the bleeding obvious, prisons are not pubs. There are severe restrictions on where we can now smoke in prison; essentially nowhere except in the open air and in the sanctity of our cells. The analogy is that our cell is our home.
Those who suspect that the under-occupation of the Isle of Man prison is related to it being a wholly non-smoking institution, and therefore unwelcoming to the criminal classes, are fixating on an overly simplistic idea. All prisons for young prisoners (under 18) are non smoking and their places are wildly over-subscribed. There is no correlation between prison conditions and crime rates, for the reason that no criminal believes he will be caught before setting out to commit his wicked deeds.

7 comments:

  1. Is there ever a problem when moving a smoker out and a non-smoker in? Most non-smokers really do not like living with the smell of smoke, and if someone smokes heavily it can lead to the smell being embedded in soft fabric. Given the prisoners are moved around, how do they deal with getting rid of the smokers smell before moving someone who doesn't smoke into that cell?

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  2. They are not suppost to mix smokers with non smokers. And hasn't anyone told Ben, we haven't been able to smoke in pubs for a while now.

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  3. Well I think they should ban it in UK prisons full stop. For the health of the prisoners if nothing else.

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  4. banned in NZ prisons since 1st July. Thats all of the prison population - including staff. Tobacco is contraband and is forbidden from the whole prison estate.

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  5. What does Ben know about pubs? By my reckoning he ought never to have been in one! The public should be told!

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  6. I wonder, supersaint, have you read Ben's posts about drug use in prisons? By introducing mandatory drug tests they caused Heroin to be a more popular drug than Marijuana, the use of which is more easily detected. Banning smoking in a stressful environment would, I imagine, raise other health issues.

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  7. Yes, you are so right Eddytheb, for example when they banned smoking in mental health residential units like hospitals and rehab centers, among a group of people who are more likely to smoke than other groups ( 80% of people with schizophrenia smoke ) it has been used as a method of punishment and control, ordering when and where anyone can smoke.

    My argument is that if they are serious about saving peoples health why don't they stop production? Have the tabacco fields around the world grow something better and healthier for the economy and for the world?

    Another thing that I have just learned is that there are places where people can smoke happily, freely and under a roof, in the houses of parliament, apparently.

    Surely it is a health and safety issue that people, some of whom have poor health already, are made to go out in the freezing cold to smoke? Or is it all just plain cruel?

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