The Cigarette and the Correctional Officer: Smoking Among Those Who Guard Smokers
Correctional officers smoke at elevated rates. The job is stressful, the environment is (now) smoke-free, and the culture of corrections has historically been tolerant of smoking. The correctional officer's smoking is a window into occupational health in the carceral system.
Correctional officers work in a uniquely stressful environment—violence, burnout, and the psychological demands of carceral labor. Smoking rates are elevated. Cessation support is minimal. **The correctional officer's smoking is both an occupational health problem and a window into the carceral system. The same institution that bans smoking for inmates offers little support for the officers who guard them—and the stress that drives smoking is a product of the same system.**
