Irish prison looked at introducing special 'prison vape' after staff complained of breathing in second-hand smoke 

The Health and Safety Authority raised issues over staff exposure and air quality following an inspection of Wheatfield Prison last year. File picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Prison bosses considered introducing a specially designed British "prison vape" over concerns about officers breathing in second-hand smoke.

Ventilation fans were also cranked up to clear the air before inmates were unlocked from their cells at Wheatfield Prison in Dublin.

The unusual measures followed nicotine testing that found levels just 4.1% below the occupational exposure limit.

The Health and Safety Authority raised issues over staff exposure and air quality following an inspection of the jail last year.

The authority referred the issue to a specialist team because of “possible indoor pollutants” at Wheatfield.

The Irish Prison Service later carried out a risk assessment looking at periods when prisoners were unlocked, recreation times, and searches of cells.

Independent nicotine sampling was also commissioned at three locations in Wheatfield where staff had flagged issues with second-hand smoke.

Under legislation, jails are treated differently to other workplaces, with cells considered as a “domestic setting” for prisoners.

However, penal institutions are otherwise meant to be smoke-free under official Irish Prison Service policy. Previous sampling in 2023 found nicotine levels were only marginally below the occupational exposure limit.

Records released under Freedom of Information detail how the Irish Prison Service commissioned and installed an upgraded ventilation system to help ease staff concerns.

It also reduced the variety of vapes available to prisoners and moved to a single approved product to “ensure consistency, safety and control”. Contact was also made with the UK, where a “bespoke” vaping product had been developed for use behind bars.

It was said to have safety advantages in a prison environment and used a modified e-liquid formulation to produce less vapour.

The Irish Prison Service also planned to examine measures including the elimination of so-called “tobacco days” in prison tuck shops, as well as reducing the range of tobacco and vape products available.

A smoking cessation programme was also rolled out at Wheatfield to help prisoners and employees kick the habit altogether.