Evaluation of a national smoke-free prisons policy using medication dispensing: an interrupted time-series analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Internationally, smoking prevalence among people in prison custody (ie, people on remand awaiting trial, awaiting sentencing, or serving a custodial sentence) is high. In Scotland, all prisons implemented a comprehensive smoke-free policy in 2018 after a 16-month anticipatory period. In this study, we aimed to use data on medication dispensing to assess the impact of this policy on cessation support, health outcomes, and potential unintended consequences among people in prison custody.

Methods

We did an interrupted time-series analysis using dispensing data for 44 660 individuals incarcerated in 14 closed prisons in Scotland between March 30, 2014, and Nov 30, 2019. We estimated changes in dispensing rates associated with the policy announcement (July 17, 2017) an

SUBMITTER: Tweed EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8554387 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature