Evaluating Graduated Progress towards and Impacts of the Implementation of Indoor Smokefree prison facilities in Scotland

TIPs began in 2016. It examined the implementation of a new policy, a total smoking ban in Scottish prisons from 30th November 2018. To our knowledge, our study was the first to evaluate the introduction of a prison smoking ban using data collected throughout a prison system over time. The first Phase of the project (Phase 1) began well in advance of the policy change, to understand how people living and working within Scotland’s prisons felt about tobacco use and a potential smoking ban. We also measured levels of second-hand smoke in prisons and talked to people who used and provided smoking cessation support. Phase 2 began in July 2017, after the announcement that Scotland’s prisons would become smokefree from 30th November 2018, and was designed to understand if and how things changed in the lead up to the implementation of a smoking ban. Phase 3 was designed to evaluate the impact of the implementation of a smoking ban. The study used a range of methods, across the three phases, to examine the process and outcomes of the removal of tobacco from Scotland’s prison system - specifically, objective measurement of second-hand smoke exposures in all 15 Scottish prisons; online staff surveys and paper prisoner questionnaires; interviews and/or focus groups with prison and healthcare staff and people in custody (prisoners); interviews with personnel in other countries which have introduced prison smoking bans; analysis of routinely collected data; and health economic modelling. The results were shared on an ongoing basis with key stakeholders to inform decision-making and communication strategies in respect of the implementation of a prison smoking ban in Scotland. This study was conducted in partnership with the University of Glasgow, and with the Scottish Prison Service.