Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/29673
Appears in Collections:Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport Journal Articles
Peer Review Status: Refereed
Title: Views of prison staff in Scotland on the potential benefits and risks of e-cigarettes in smoke-free prisons: a qualitative focus group study
Author(s): Brown, Ashley
Sweeting, Helen
Semple, Sean
Bauld, Linda
Demou, Evangelia
Logan, Greig
Hunt, Kate
Issue Date: May-2019
Date Deposited: 5-Jun-2019
Citation: Brown A, Sweeting H, Semple S, Bauld L, Demou E, Logan G & Hunt K (2019) Views of prison staff in Scotland on the potential benefits and risks of e-cigarettes in smoke-free prisons: a qualitative focus group study. BMJ Open, 9 (6), Art. No.: e027799. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027799
Abstract: Objective Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) were introduced into all Scottish prisons in February 2018, some months after prisons began preparing in 2017 for a smoking ban implemented in November 2018. In 2016/2017, prison staff views on the potential benefits and risks of e-cigarettes were explored in advance of the introduction of: (1) a smoking ban and (2) e-cigarettes. Setting Fourteen prisons in Scotland. Participants Seventeen focus groups and two paired interviews were conducted with 132 staff in 14 Scottish prisons 4-9 months before plans for a smoking ban were announced in July 2017. Both smoking and non-smoking staff were invited to participate. Results Prison staff highlighted three potential risks of e-cigarettes in smoke-free prisons: staff health risks from e-cigarette vapour; prisoner health risks from vaping; and risks to both groups from e-cigarette misuse, defects or accidents. Conversely, potential benefits of e-cigarettes in smoke-free prisons centred on: reducing smoking-related health harms to staff and prisoners; helping prisoners to manage without tobacco; and supporting staff to maintain safety and discipline in prison. Staff who participated in focus groups had limited experience of vaping and expressed some uncertainty and misunderstandings about e-cigarettes. Conclusion Our findings highlight that scientific uncertainty, misunderstanding about vaping, the complexity of prisons as workplaces and prison tobacco control policy all have implications for staff perceptions of the potential place of e-cigarettes in smoke-free prisons. To alleviate staff concerns, there is a need for reliable information on e-cigarettes. Staff may also require reassurances on whether products are ‘tamper proof’, and rules about vaping indoors.
DOI Link: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027799
Rights: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Licence URL(s): http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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