You can not smoke in a pub. You can not smoke in a club. You can not smoke in a restaurant. You can not smoke on a beach - and in fact the areas where you are permitted to light up are becoming more restricted as each year goes by.
Now there are moves to make prisons a " no smoke zone " - and this introduces a plethora of conflicting arguments.
Should non smoking prisoners and the prison officers who guard them be subjected to second hand smoke ? Both could regard prisons as their " work place " - and the law these days guarantees that work places should be smoke free - and therefore " risk free " ?
Prisoners are denied many " rights " enjoyed by ordinary citizens. For instance, they are not permitted to have mobile phones to retain contact with loved ones. Is a ban on nicotine any different from the usual strict security measures enacted on those serving a form of " punishment " ?
Does the denial of nicotine infringe on the right " to do as one pleases in one's own home " ? After all, a prison cell is undeniably " home " to a prisoner for the duration of the sentence to be served. This is compounded by the " lockdown " regulations in force for sixteen hours a day. A prisoner is locked in a cell from 4 pm to 8 am on every day of the year.
No doubt any nicotine ban will be tested under legislation that guarantees " human rights " and there will be an argument that deprivation will make prisoners more violent and enhance the chances of attacks on prison officers.
A decision to ban smoking in prisons will be decided in a political framework - and as any prison officer will attest - whatever the decision - it will not see the end of smoking in prisons. It will simply add nicotine to the long list of banned substances already circulating behind prison walls.
At least it might prove an incentive for those prisoners wanting to quit for health reasons !
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