Mississippi Prisons to Allow Smoking in 2021

Inmates in Mississippi’s prison system will be allowed to smoke starting Feb. 1, reports the Associated Press, citing the head of state’s prison system. The move is designed to break the trade in contraband tobacco that’s smuggled inside.

Smoking has been banned for a decade in the Mississippi’s 21 prisons and other facilities, but Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain said in a news release Wednesday that some inmates have been lighting up anyway.

Deputy Commissioner Jay Mallett said inmates have been paying up to $500 a pound for smuggled tobacco, and those caught smoking have lost the chance for early release.

Profits from prison tobacco sales will help pay for remedial courses so inmates can earn high school diplomas.

According to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation and other websites, 27 other state correctional departments, including New York, California and Illinois, allow smoking outdoors at prisons, with 15 also allowing the use of other tobacco products.