UK court extends smoking ban to prisons News
UK court extends smoking ban to prisons

[JURIST] Paul Black, a prisoner at HMP Wymott [official website], won a contentious judgment [text, PDF] in the UK High Court [official website] on Thursday banning smoking in prisons and all Crown premises. Under current regulations, prisoners are permitted to smoke in cells but forbidden to smoke in corridors and other places of high prisoner traffic. The Thursday ruling extends Health Act 2006 [text] to prisons, likely resulting in more strict application of the rules and potential prosecution against any prison staff that permit violations. Rejecting Justice Secretary Chris Grayling’s argument against the ruling, Justice Singh stated, “in my judgment it is clear from the terms of the 2006 Act, read in its proper context . . . that the intention of Parliament was indeed that it should apply to all public places. . . . In my view, the beneficent purpose of the Act would be wholly frustrated if the Crown were not bound by it.”

When Health Act 2006 [JURIST report] went into effect in England and Wales, it joined similar acts in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In 2013 EU lawmakers approved sweeping new regulations [JURIST report] to curb smoking, including limits on electronic cigarettes, bigger warnings on cigarette packs and a ban on menthol, or any flavored cigarettes which could be considered “gimmicks.” Today 17 EU countries [EU overview] have comprehensive smoking laws in place. In the US President Barack Obama signed [JURIST report] the Family Smoking and Tobacco Prevention Act into law in 2009, granting the FDA certain authority to regulate manufactured tobacco products. The legislation heightened warning-label requirements, prohibited marketing “light cigarettes” as a healthier alternative and allowed for the regulation of cigarette ingredients.