Commissioner of Prisons Bigadier General Ioane Naivalurua said the ban had been in place since October 2007. 

The ban is not only restricted to inmates. 

“All prisons are now smoke-free zones,” said Brig Naivalurua. 

“We are also trying to stop the abuse of yaqona by the officers, which affects the level of performance of their work.” 

He said the Prisons Department discussed with the Ministry of Health how to improve health in the prisons. 

“Our concern for the inmates in part of our Yellow Ribbon project to reintegrate them into society as reformed offenders, who can become productive members of the societies they live in. We are asking the community to give second chances to the reformed offenders,” he said. 

The cigarette ban was also to encourage inmates to live healthy lifestyles and promote better oral health and their families who visit them had been asked to assist with this. 

“We are concerned with the dental health of the inmates under our charge,” said Brig Naivalurua. 

“Each inmate is issued with a tube of fluoridated toothpaste every month. In fact one the first acts I did when I took over as the Commissioner two years ago was to allow the families of the inmates to bring in fruits when they visited". 

“This is to supplement those supplied by the department. As you know fruits are healthy for the body and the teeth as well.”