Whitehall ‘knew about health risks’ to prison warders as anti-smokers push for total ban

Reports shared with the Ministry of Justice suggest that it has been aware of evidence of prison staff being at risk of exposure to unacceptably high levels of secondhand smoke for eight years.

Three analyses, all marked “confidential” and written between 2007 and 2008, are likely to put further pressure on the government to introduce a ban on smoking in jails, despite claims that it will lead to unrest: four out of five inmates smoke.

The reports, written by an organisation called the Tobacco Control Collaborating Centre and obtained by the Observer, were based on air-quality tests carried out in several prisons,.

One report concludes: “There seems little doubt that allowing a continuation of smoking behaviours in prison settings does expose staff and fellow inmates to unhealthy levels of particulate contamination.”

The reports found that secondhand smoke levels exceeded the US classification for “unhealthy” for short periods of time. At one prison, levels were similar to those experienced by bar staff before the smoking ban. The MoJ is understood to have rejected the findings.

Sean Humber, a lawyer with Leigh Day solicitors, called on the ministry to reveal whether it had conducted any further analysis of secondhand smoke levels in Britain’s prisons.

“The results suggest that non-smoking prisoners and prison staff may very well be being exposed to unhealthy levels of cigarette smoke,” Humber said. “This must call into question the lawfulness of continuing to force non-smoking prisoners to share cells with smokers. It may also show that the existing ban on smoking in the communal areas of prisons, such as landings, is simply not being enforced.”

Terry Fullerton, a member of the Prison Officers Association’s national executive committee, said it had been pushing for a ban since legislation was introduced in 2007, but fears of how prisoners would react had prompted the National Offender Management Service to block the measures.

“We got close to starting pilot schemes in 2010 and 2012, but at each point when we thought we might move forward, operational stability was given as a reason for not proceeding,” Fullerton said. “We are the only group of workers in the country that have to go to work and suffer the effects of secondhand smoke.”

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of charity Action on Smoking and Health, said there was no evidence to support claims that depriving prisoners of tobacco could lead to riots.

“Prisons all around the world have gone smoke-free with few problems and, in the UK, all high-security psychiatric facilities have already gone smoke-free, as have prisons in the Isle of Man and Guernsey, without any trouble,” she said.

The MoJ said it had taken steps to curb levels of secondhand smoke in prisons. A spokesman said: “We are continuing to consider how to reduce the prevalence of smoking across the prison estate, but the safety and security of prisons will always be our top priority.”

• This story was amended on 26 July to clarify the language used about the commissioning of the TCCC reports