Smoking will banned at Canberra's prison by the middle of the year, with the Cancer Council ACT appointed to provide support to prisoners and staff.
The ban in the Alexander Maconochie Centre is likely to raise tensions among the prison population, where smoking rates are higher than in the community, with system insiders previously warning the government to expect riots.
Corrections Minister Mick Gentleman on Friday said the ban would be implemented in a measured and collaborative way.
"We know quitting smoking can be difficult, so the government is collaborating with Cancer Council ACT to provide training to support the transition to a smoke-free environment," Mr Gentleman said.
"The training will help equip staff and detainees with the skills to provide support, encouragement, and advice on how to quit smoking."
Mr Gentleman said the smoking ban would be implemented in stages and prison staff would also be able to access support to quit.
Detainees and staff would be able to access nicotine replacement therapy as well as diversionary activities, such has exercise, art and barbecues, he said.
QUIT resources, justice health services and the Winnunga Health Clinic would also provide ongoing support.
"As part of the program, detainees are being made aware of the supports available and key upcoming transition activities, such as the gradual reduction of tobacco of availability in the AMC. We already have more than 100 detainees accessing NRT within the centre," Mr Gentleman said.
Cancer Council ACT chief executive Verity Hawkins said staff and detainees would be enabled to support each other to quit through onsite training on the types of supports available.
"Through this training, Cancer Council ACT is pleased to support measures to reduce exposure to smoking and second-hand smoke in workplaces, or where people are unable to avoid it," Ms Hawkins said.
The Canberra Times has previously reported corrections staff, speaking on condition of anonymity, have warned the transition to a no-smoking prison risked creating unrest among inmates and could potentially start another riot.
"Tobacco is used as a currency inside the jail, and smoking is seen as a way of easing the boredom," one custodial officer said.
The government's explanatory statement said safeguards would be introduced to mitigate the harms of smoking withdrawal and there would be "appropriate therapeutic supports for smoking cessation" made available before the ban was introduced.
"There are several nicotine withdrawal symptoms associated with smoking cessation including depressed mood, difficulty sleeping, anxiety, irritability, frustration, anger and restlessness. Without appropriate treatment for withdrawals, the prohibition could cause significant distress for detainees and would potentially limit the right not to be subject to inhumane treatment," the statement said.
In 2015, a decision by the Victorian government to ban smoking in its prisons sparked a 15-hour riot at Melbourne's metropolitan remand centre.
More than two-thirds of the Canberra jail population is made up of smokers, according to data gathered in the 2019 Healthy Prison Review, but one quarter of the prisoners surveyed at the time said they would give up smoking if they received proper support.
A parliamentary inquiry last month recommended the ACT government provide more information on what types of smoking cessation supports would be available in the lead-up to the ban in the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
The Corrections and Sentencing Legislation Amendment Bill 2022, which was introduced to the Assembly in November, would allow the director-general of corrections in the ACT to ban smoking completely in the prison.
Banning smoking in the prison was a recommendation of an independent 2022 report into the prison, Blueprint for Change: A New Future for Custodial Services report.
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