Why this fascination with the irrelevant?
Friday, September 20, 2013 at 8:25
Simon Clark

The BBC (via The Times, I think) reports that:

Smoking ban considered for prisons.

There was an interesting discussion on the issue on the Today programme (Radio 4) this morning.

Ben Gunn, a commentator on prisoner reform, said that in his experience there are hundred of issues that concern prisoners but passive smoking is not one of them.

Mark Johnson, founder of User Voice, suggested that a smoking ban could unite and politicise prisoners in a way that hasn't been seen for years.

When presenter John Humphrys suggested the solution could be nicotine patches his guest's scornful laugh said it all.

The best line also belonged to Johnson. The debate, he said, represented a "fascination with the irrelevant".

I shall be discussing the issue myself on BBC Radio Suffolk at 9.10 and Radio Cambridgeshire at 9.30.

There must be a lot of prisons in East Anglia.

Update: I'm also doing BBC Radio Oxford at 4.15 and BBC Coventry & Warwickshire an hour later.

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