The human rights implications of smoking bans in closed environments: What Australia may learn from the international experience

There is a high prevalence of tobacco smoking amongst the populations of closed environments; particularly prisons and psychiatric settings. There are increasing attempts to ban smoking in these environments, which has implications (positive and negative) for the protection of human rights of the people detained and staff. Aspects of the culture of such environments make it challenging to reduce smoking prevalence. The article focuses on what Australia may learn from the legal decisions from jurisdictions that have more experience with the regulation of smoking in closed environments (the UK, New Zealand, USA and Canada). The analysis of the case law from these jurisdictions reveals that the courts are willing to protect non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoking in certain circumstances, but human rights claims brought by smokers denied the ability to smoke are less likely to succeed. Recommendations are made to ensure that smoking bans are implemented in a rights-respecting manner.