MONTREAL - Quebec jails are going totally smoke-free starting next February.
Under the new rules both prisoners and guards won't be allowed to smoke anywhere on prison grounds, even outside.
"It's for the health of both the personnel and those incarcerated,'' Real Roussy, a spokesman for Quebec's Public Security Department, said Wednesday.
But a prisoner rights group says the move to force inmates to butt out is unfair and could increase tensions with guards.
"I don't think it will cause riots, but it will create personal problems and problems with prisoner-guard relationships,'' said Jean-Claude Bernheim, president of Quebec's Prisoners' Rights Committee.
"If they could smoke outside, I think that would solve a lot of problems.''
In an attempt to avoid tensions, inmates will have access to nicotine patches to ease their cravings.
"There will be support for people who want to quit smoking, but the substitute products will be available at the prisoner's expense,'' Roussy said.
Quebec is believed to be the last province in Canada where provincial inmates still enjoy the right to smoke.
