Abstract
Tobacco smoking remains the leading cause of premature
death and the number one preventable public health
problem in Australia and in most developed countries.
Unlike the trends in the general population, where a
decreasing prevalence has been observed over the past
30 years, smoking prevalence among inmates of
Australian correctional centres remains consistently high,
with over two-thirds of the inmate population being
regular smokers. This article describes a tobacco control
program implemented in NSW correctional facilities from
May 1999 to April 2001. The future directions of the
program are also discussed.
