Effects of a Smoking Cessation Program for Prison Inmates-A Case Study of a Prison in Central Taiwan

According to WHO database, an average of 540 million people worldwide dies from smoking related diseases every year. The use of tobacco products may reduce the average life expectancy of about 15 years. The data of 2009 from Department of Health Bureau of Health showed 38.57% male adults and 4.75% female adults smoked in Taiwan. Studies about smoking rate within prison inmates were between 64-91.8%, which was over 3 times than the general population. Smoking cessation can lower the risks of smoking related health problems. Two thirds of smokers in Taiwan once tried smoking cessation but the success rate was about 5% every year.

In view of high smoking rate within prison inmates in Taiwan, Agency of Correction, Ministry of Justice announced a smoking cessation program for inmates in April 2010. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of this program and the difference of cessation success rate between various interventional methods, using questionnaires for smokers and smoking cessation clinics database.