The costings and size had been trialled, the memo said, with one jumbo carrot providing 16 carrot sticks, which would be cut into uniform sizes "to the best of our ability". A Department of Corrections spokeswoman confirmed Invercargill Prison and the Otago Corrections Facility were among prisons that had already started giving out the healthy snack to help with smoking withdrawal.
Corrections Association of New Zealand president Beven Hanlon said when he first heard about giving prisoners carrot sticks as a replacement for cigarettes he thought it was a joke. While the prison memo says the carrots are to be trialled for about a month, Mr Hanlon said he would be surprised if it was still going in a couple of weeks.
"I don't think it is one of [the Department of Corrections'] best ideas but it is worth a try," he said. The reasoning behind carrot sticks, he said, was they were healthier than other options, such as hard lollies, and should take the prisoners' minds off smoking. "It's the whole oral thing ... if they have got something in their mouth, they won't be looking for a cigarette to put in it."
5 comments:
Two a day? And they get 16 sticks out of a carrot? They are setting the program up for failure. Make it 50 sticks a day, and it might work for some inmates.
Heh heh, yes.
I get the impression they haven't thought this through.
As an ex-smoker, I can attest that this will not stifle the craving one bit. I also predict some nasty fights ahead.
Smokes...carrots... why should they even be given any consideration for anything... they are prisoners who should be made to go without anything except the bare necessities to live!!
As cigarettes are often used as a form of currency in jail, they could let the prisoners grow their own carrots and produce their own economy.
Post a Comment