Smoking Ban in Prison - Another clever MoJ idea?

I am not a smoker and yet, I truly have felt empathy and can understand some of the anger felt by Prisoners about the smoking ban that is already in some Prisons across England and Wales.

The one thing that I quickly worked out after I went into custody is the value that prisoners place on being able to smoke. It was one of the very few rights that a prisoner has. The public may say "well, they don't deserve to be able to smoke"

If you listen to the waffle that comes from the Ministry of Justice, they say that going to prison is the punishment and NOT being in prison, well I could write a book about that! And yet, the smoking ban is in effect a punishment to prisoners.

The MoJ complain about violence and I accept that not all violence is in relation to this, but I did not come across one person in HMP Leeds who was overjoyed at the thought of not being able to smoke.

Oh, but hold on, there is the millions spent on trying to reduce smoking in prison, that as far as I have heard, have done very little to reduce smoking and I would be interested to see the figures of reduction and the cost to the public per prisoner of this reduction.

I wonder if the person that created this legislation has ever been to a prison before and knows the importance of their decision, and are they a non smoker? For me, even as a non smoker, this is another poke in the eye for prisoners already locked up 20 - 24 hours a day, less exercise and education time and now taking away something the public are allowed to choose.

The MoJ surely knew what would happen as the ban was rolled out and that it will just go underground and will create a whole new wave of debtors, baccy kings and bullying?

DId someone sit in MoJ and say "How can we wind up a already unhappy and overcrowded prison population, ah yes, lets ban the one thing that most prisoners do"

I do not condone violence or violent protests, but I already know from fellow prisoners that there will be a reaction and indeed it has already started across England.

I do feel for the Operational and Civilian Staff in Prisons as it is they who will get the backlash for something that they did not choose and appear not to agree with, but at least it has made some grey suit happy in the MoJ.