PRISONERS may be able to continue smoking in their cells next year under the health minister’s new regulations.

Micheal Martin, who will sign off on the workplace ban on smoking this week, has, however, decided to include psychiatric patients in the ban, despite lobbying by doctors.

Department of Health sources suggested prison authorities could circumvent the ban by declaring cells to be dwelling places. Prison officers are likely to challenge such a designation.

The regulations, which will become law from January 1, stipulate that smoking is banned in the workplace. However, the minister had been widely lobbied to exclude psychiatric patients and prisoners from the smoking prohibition. In submissions, the prison service and psychiatric associations both argued of the effects of a smoking ban on inmates.

Martin was influenced by Dr John Owens, chairman of the mental health commission, who argued that exempting psychiatric patients from the ban would stigmatise them.

The minister has decided that psychiatric hospitals will now become completely non-smoking, with outdoor smoking shelters being provided for patients and staff.

An implementation committee will meet over the next six weeks to discuss how the ban should be put into effect in prisons. Sean Aylward, the prison service chief, has argued for smoking to be allowed in cells. Justin Brophy, the chairman of the Irish Psychiatric Association, has said that patients suffering mental health problems need a smoking concession.

The implementation committee comprises environmental health officers, health officials, the Office of Tobacco Control, and the Health and Safety Authority.

Martin will reveal the precise start-up date of the smoking ban when he brings the regulations to cabinet on Tuesday. They will ban smoking in a range of workplaces, but not in dwelling places. Up to 50 environmental health officers will be assigned exclusively to “policing” the smoking ban in pubs and restaurants in the first few months.

The minister has also abandoned controversial plans for a freephone line where members of the public would be invited to report breaches of the ban. Anyone with concerns about breaches will be able to contact the Office of Tobacco Control and the environmental health sections of the health boards.

A number of anomalies surrounding the ban remain. For instance, the regulations will not clarify whether a private house becomes designated a workplace when tradesmen — such as builders and decorators — are employed in the home.

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