Smoking Bans Are Associated with Mortality Benefits Among the Incarcerated

The U.S. Supreme Court has indicated that exposing nonsmoking prisoners to secondhand smoke can be construed as “cruel and unusual punishment” (Helling v. McKinney, 509 U.S. 25 [1993]). In response, many states have enacted prison tobacco control policies, including bans on smoking. To determine whether such bans are associated with reductions in smoking-related mortality, investigators examined data on smoking prevalence, deaths, and tobacco control policies in all state prisons in the U.S. between 2001 and 2011. Of the more than 1.2 million people incarcerated in state prisons in 2004, 76% were current or former smokers; 56% smoked daily before their arrest.

During the study period, the age-adjusted rate of smoking-attributable deaths was …