Current tobacco policies in US adult male prisons

The current national trend in the restriction of smoking and use of tobacco products is extending to the prison system. At the same time that city, st ate and the federal governments are limiting smoking in public places and b usinesses, state and federal prison systems are limiting use in correctiona l facilities. The data for this paper was collected by mail from department s of correction in the fifty states, the District of Columbia and the feder al Bureau of Prisons. The results show a continuing trend in tobacco limita tion policies at male prisons within the U.S. Several states totally ban al l tobacco and only a few still allow generally unlimited use. Limitation po licies range from segregation into smoking and nonsmoking areas to the bani shment of inmates and staff to smoking areas outside prison buildings. While many see a nonsmoking prison system as the wave of the future, use of tobacco in prisons is still common. This research examines the official re ason given for changes in tobacco policy and the alterations in prison oper ations that developed after restrictions were implemented. Increased tensio ns developed among inmates, staff and administration as a result of the new policies. For those prison systems that banned tobacco, an active black ma rket operation developed eclipsing other contraband problems. (C) 2001 Else vier Science Inc. All rights reserved.