Scotland's prisons should be vape free as well as smoke free,
says the union representing Scotland's 4000 Prison
Officers.
The ban on smoking in public places came into effect in Scotland
in 2006 but it took until 2017 and a review of exposure to second
hand smoke for it to be introduced across the prison estate.
Since 2017 prisoners have been allowed to use vapes as a
supportive replacement measure to cigarettes. In the years
since the introduction of vapes there has been a growing fear
amongst staff about the health impact of regular exposure to the
chemicals contained in vaping products.
The Prison Officers' Association Scotland wants to see the
smoking ban extended to cover vapes in our prisons and we have
presented our clear the air report to the Scottish Prison Service
setting out the case for extending the ban.
A spokesperson for the POAS said:
The health, safety and well being impact of vaping products on
our members is a real concern.
Prison Officers and wider SPS staff should not be expected to
experience daily exposure to the cocktail of chemicals contained
in vaping liquids. No one knows the long term health implications
for staff, and the prisoners who vape. We also see vapes
being misused to smoke illicit drugs which is having a severe
impact on staff health, prisoners' health and the prison regime.
There is no legal requirement for SPS to provide vapes but there
is a legal obligation to protect staff and prisoners from
foreseeable harm and we urge them to be brave and support our
call to remove vapes from our prisons.
Work is being taken forward under the SPS Drug IMT group and the
POAS stands ready to work with the SPS on this very important
issue.
