The ACT government has been warned to expect "huge problems", including violent riots, at the Alexander Maconochie Centre following the announcement it will ban smoking inside Canberra's jail.
"I don't believe this is going to go as smoothly as they may think," a person involved in the prison system told The Canberra Times after Corrections Minister Mick Gentleman revealed work on the ban had already begun.
Mr Gentleman said he expected it would take about a year to "transition to a smoke-free AMC", with inmates to be offered support.
"Detainees are not being asked to quit cold turkey," he said.
"Nicotine replacement therapies and a range of supports to help people cope with withdrawal symptoms will be available during the transition."
Prison staff will not be allowed to smoke on site once the ban takes effect either, and Mr Gentleman said they, too, would be supported to quit smoking.
"We know that quitting smoking is tough, but for the health and safety of all detainees and staff, it has to be done," he said.
About 82 per cent of detainees at the Canberra prison smoked in 2016, according to a survey conducted at the time, with 14 per cent taking up smoking while they were in custody.
ACT Corrective Services commissioner Ray Johnson said the survey also showed about 60 per cent had tried to quit smoking while in prison, and 67 per cent indicated they would like to quit.
The ACT and Western Australia are the only Australian jurisdictions that still allow smoking behind bars.
The territory decided to pursue a ban after one was recommended by an independent review, which was released earlier this year.
Staff at Canberra's prison have previously aired concerns that the smoking ban could spark a riot.
Guards who spoke to The Canberra Times on the condition of anonymity said while smoking was a health and safety risk, they were more fearful that the ban would generate significant unrest.
The largest riot in Victorian prison history erupted in 2015 after that state moved to stop smoking in jail, with 36 correctional officers injured and about $13 million worth of damage left behind.
A person involved in programs offered to ACT prisoners warned on Wednesday evening that similar scenes might be on the horizon at Canberra's only adult jail.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, he told The Canberra Times inmates unable to access prison bank accounts in order to buy cigarettes had "gone nuts" in the past.
He described cigarettes as "the only vice" available to stressed prisoners, predicting they would now turn their attentions to having tobacco smuggled into jail rather than "stick with" support services like counselling.
"I believe it will actually create huge problems," he said.
"I think there could be riots of some sort."
Despite the reservations of some, ACT Chief Health Officer Kerryn Coleman said she was pleased with the move to make the jail smoke-free.
"The AMC has a significantly higher smoking rate than the general population and this is an important step to protect all detainees, staff and visitors from the harmful effects of smoking," Dr Coleman said.
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