7. SANDRA GOUDIE (National—Coromandel) Link to this
to the Minister of Corrections
What steps are being taken to make prisons safer and healthier for staff and prisoners?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Corrections) Link to this
I am pleased to report that from 1 July next year all prisoners in New Zealand jails will be banned from smoking. About two-thirds of prisoners smoke, and this exposes staff and prisoners to serious harm. Research into the air quality in prisons shows that staff and prisoners can be exposed to 12 times the level of second-hand smoke that is in the home of an indoor smoker. The policy will also mean that there is no need for prisoners to have lighters or matches. These have been used to set fire to bedding, and to light balls of paper that have been thrown at corrections staff. Our hard-working officers deserve better than that, and I fully support the introduction of the ban. With this photograph I show the House an example of just what can happen in a prisoner’s cell when there is access to lighters and matches.
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
There will be an extensive 12-month campaign prior to the introduction of the ban to encourage staff and prisoners to give up smoking. This campaign will be led by the Department of Corrections and supported by the Ministry of Health and the Quit Group. The campaign will include information, education on smoking, and support to quit smoking. Prisoners will also be offered an 8-week course of nicotine replacement patches. All youth units in New Zealand prisons have been successfully operating as smoke-free environments. Smoking is also banned in police station holding cells and secure mental health facilities. I have every confidence that the Department of Corrections will implement this policy successfully.