In 2015, the Federal Bureau of Prisons banned smoking in all federal correctional facilities unless it is part of an inmate’s approved religious activity. BOP staff and visitors are permitted to smoke in designated outdoor areas.
As in state prisons, inmates in federal prisons have an underground tobacco trade thanks to smuggled products. But the inmates usually don’t buy packs of cigarettes, but individual cigarettes, also known as pinners.
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Justice Department officials say they lifted the ban on tobacco products in layoff programs because they didn’t want inmates so close to completing their sentences having to come back after bars for violators against the rules.
The Adverse Effects of a Smoking Ban in Prisons
Smoking bans in prisons and prisons can bring many attractive benefits, but it also brought with it a list of unattractive negative effects. These can be seen in the following perspective:
- Black market flourishes; With cigarettes no longer part of prison amenities, smokers had to find a second way to quench their thirst. This paved the way for the establishment and flourishing of another illegal black market, accompanied, of course, by vices such as intimidation, prisoner fighting, sex for tobacco, and illegal smuggling. The market is deeply ingrained in the system and inmates, prison staff and visitors alike have been drawn into it.
- There are no guarantees when prisoners are released; they will not fall back into their old habits; The ban on smoking in prisons may be beneficial to health, but it is no guarantee that when an inmate is released back into society, he will not return to smoking.
- The bans were the subject of violent acts by the inmates; When the bans were announced at various facilities across the United States, smoking inmates did not welcome the news. The ban even triggered violent riots in various institutions. Inmates can kill or suffer for the pleasure of smoking a cigarette, and when that privilege was taken away it was unwelcome.
- It is seen as an erosion of human freedom; The ban was not welcomed by human rights groups, which many saw as a denial of human freedom.
- Corruption in jails and jails increased; With most inmates unwilling to give up their smoking habits and willing to risk everything for the priceless train, corruption crept into the prison system. Inmates bribe prison staff to smuggle cigarettes into these facilities.
- security breach; The illegal black market brings with it many vices, some of which lead to acts of violence between inmates.