More than £100,000 has been spent buying vaping kits for inmates in Scottish jails since the smoking ban started.
The Scottish smoking ban for prisons came into force at the end of November, instead of cigarettes prisoners have been given vapes. Already 7,500 vaping kits have been given out by the Scottish Prisoner Service. The ban was made to make long term improvements to health for staff and prisoners however it is now being questioned by campaigners to discuss whether it is good value for money.
Around 72% of inmates smoke compared with 16% of Scots in the wider population.
Scottish Prisoner Service expect the total cost of vaping kits to be around £150,000. Each of these kits contains the vaping pen, a charger and a pack of three flavoured liquids costing £14. Inmates will be expected to pay for their own pens and liquids in April
Scottish Prisoner Service spokesman, Tom Fox said: “It’s a very positive step for the well-being of the people in our care and the people who work for us,”
“I think it’s money well spent. The health benefits for our staff and those in our care greatly outweigh any initial cost we have introducing the programme.”
The air quality in prisons has risen by an average of 80% since the smoking ban was put in place.
Read more on the ban here:
