In 2018, Jurby Prison on the Isle of Man spearheaded a vaping-related pilot scheme that saw inmates switch tobacco cigarettes for e-cigarettes. The scheme was hailed as an unprecedented success. Jurby Prison governor Bob McColm announced that the e-cig pilot scheme solved the smoking problem within the prison. McColm believes that due to the trial, “We have better behaviour and a calmer, cleaner and safer environment”. A continuation of this initial trial was worth serious consideration. The Governor was surprised at how many inmates in Jurby asked to quit smoking and indicated that they needed and wanted support with this.

Jurby Prison introduced a prison-wide smoking ban in 2008, the first prison in Europe to do so; however, implementing the ban was a significant challenge. Reports of prisoners producing makeshift cigarettes using nicotine from patches meant to help people quit smoking mixed with anything from banana skins to tea bags made it clear that something else needed to be done.

Rather than implementing a blanket ban on the inmates, Bill Malarkey, the Home Affairs Minister, introduced and approved the idea of offering e-cigarettes as an alternative on a trial basis initially.

With e-cigarettes available, as many as twenty-five percent of new offenders asked for help to quit smoking compared to no new offenders asking for smoking cessation aids before vaping was an option. The results of the trial saw many inmates giving up tobacco altogether and many choosing to switch over to vaping as an alternative.

In addition to the obvious health benefits of inmates not smoking tobacco, not least the passive smoking issue that staff and other inmates would have to suffer, several positive behavioural changes were recorded. The prison released a statement supporting this, which showed that there was more than a 40% drop in offender adjudications, nearly 60% fewer behaviour-related warnings and prison cell power outages dropped by half (prisoners were using electrical points to rig up a way to spark up their tobacco cigarettes which was causing damage, as well as being hazardous).

With behaviour, attitude, and health benefits all recorded, inmates, prison staff, and authorities, including the Independent Monitoring Board’s Chairman, could clearly see the benefit of the scheme continuing. Public Health Director H Ewart claimed to be “delighted” by the scheme's success and that she would push strongly for it to continue.

From a harm-reduction point of view, vaping is by far the better option and introducing e-cigarettes has greatly reduced the quite frankly hazardous behaviours previously recorded by those trying to get hold of or create and smoke homemade cigarettes.

This is a great success for all, including those balancing the prison books, as NRT (nicotine replacement patches) were withdrawn at the beginning of the trial, which could save the prison service as much as £8500 per year.

Six years later, we’re taking another look at the impact of vaping in prisons and if the success of the Jurby trial has been replicated across the country.

In recent years, the landscape of the UK's prison system has experienced a subtle yet profound transformation thanks to the e-cigarette. At Go Smoke-Free, we’re deeply invested in understanding the broader impacts of vaping, and the evolution within UK prisons serves as a compelling case study.

At Go Smoke Free, we see this as a powerful example of how modern, harm-reduction tools can create positive change in even the most challenging environments. Through continued support, regulation, and education, the benefits observed in UK prisons could serve as a blueprint for wider adoption in various institutional settings, contributing to a healthier, smoke-free society.

As we move forward, it’s essential to continue monitoring the impacts of vaping in prisons, ensuring that the gains made are sustained and built upon. With the right approach, vaping can be much more than just an alternative to smoking!