Guernsey smoke-free prison leads way ahead of UK ban

A prison on the Channel Islands says its smoke-free regime has been a success, ahead of UK jails starting similar smoking bans.

Guernsey's Les Nicolles prison introduced a total smoking ban in 2013.

Prison governor Dave Matthews said fears of unrest ahead of the ban had proved to be unfounded.

A smoking ban will be introduced in prisons in England and Wales from January 2016 and organisers have visited Guernsey for advice.

Prisoners at Les Nicolles were offered nicotine patches and e-cigarettes when the ban came into force.

Mr Matthews said: "People are not addicted to smoking, they are addicted to nicotine and if we provide the nicotine in a safer way we can get rid of tobacco."

He said most prisoners showed an increase in lung capacity during their time spent in Les Nicolles.

Some prisoners still attempted to smuggle in tobacco, but Mr Matthews said incidents were "few and far between" and prisoners caught with tobacco lose all privileges.

He said prisoners regained senses of smell and taste and the prison "saved a fortune on redecoration" without nicotine-stained walls.

The smoking ban was introduced to curb the effects of passive smoking.