Prisons trial carrots as cigarette alternative

In an Invercargill Prison internal communication supplied to The Southland Times, Corrections Inmate Employment is said to be supporting a national directive to supply two carrot sticks a day to each prisoner as part of the smoking cessation policy.

The costings and size had been trialed, the memo said, with one jumbo carrot providing 16 carrot sticks, which would be cut into uniform sizes "to the best of our ability".

A Department of Corrections spokeswoman confirmed Invercargill Prison and the Otago Corrections Facility were among prisons that had already started giving out the healthy snack to help with smoking withdrawal.

Corrections Association of New Zealand president Beven Hanlon said when he first heard about giving prisoners carrot sticks as a replacement for cigarettes he thought it was a joke.

While the prison memo says the carrots are to be trialed for about a month, Mr Hanlon said he would be surprised if it was still going in a couple of weeks. "I don't think it is one of [the Department of Corrections'] best ideas but it is worth a try," he said.

The reasoning behind carrot sticks, he said, was they were healthier than other options, such as hard lollies, and should take the prisoners' minds off smoking.

"It's the whole oral thing ... if they have got something in their mouth, they won't be looking for a cigarette to put in it."

Last week was the final week tobacco and tobacco-related products could be bought by prisoners, Mr Hanlon said, and as of July 1 they would become nationally prohibited items, or contraband.

That meant prisoners who would usually buy cigarettes with their weekly allowance would have spare cash, he said, and they were trying to encourage them into healthier food as most of the items available to inmates were sugary or foods such as two-minute noodles.