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"The aim of the bill is to ban smoking on the territory of a prison," it is written in the covering letter of the bill.

This means that all prisoners as well as prison officials and visitors are not allowed to smoke on a prison territory.

In addition, inmates would not be allowed to own cigarettes or products connected to these, like matches, inside the prison.

The Justice Ministry wanted to add the smoking ban to the Tobacco Law amendment discussed in the fall, but the Ministry of Social Affairs was against it and therefore it was removed from the bill. Previously the chancellor of justice, Ulle Madise, has said the plan of the ministry to completely ban smoking in prisons could be unconstitutional. The wish to restrict smoking is mostly prompted by the need to protect weightier fundamental rights, but nonetheless it is a basic right whose disproportionate restriction is not admissible, she said.

After the ban was removed from the bill, the Justice Ministry said in October it would find other means to ban smoking in prisons.

The new bill was sent to the Interior Ministry, Social Ministry and the chancellor of justice to get their opinions.