Banning smoking in jails could turn tobacco into a "flourishing illicit trade", NSW's prison boss admits.
Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin says he wants the grounds of all NSW jails to be smoke-free within 18 months to protect inmates and staff.
"We clearly have now so much evidence to confirm that smoking does so much harm that banning it is actually a very smart move," he told Fairfax radio.
But Mr Severin acknowledged one of the biggest risks in banning nicotine would be turning it into yet another form of prison contraband for authorities to deal with.
"Certainly one of the risks we are running is that we'll drive nicotine consumption underground," he said.
Quitting smoking in jail is more difficult than kicking the habit outside, Mr Severin said.
Any campaign would focus on supporting inmates by providing nicotine replacement therapies and being positive rather than punitive, he said.
However authorities would be tough on enforcing bans once they were in place, he said.
Prison staff, who faced having to deal with violent offenders going through nicotine withdrawal, were more concerned about being exposed to passive smoke, Mr Severin said.
"They are concerned for their health," he said.
"That being said they also want to make sure that we ... do offer nicotine therapy for anyone that kicks that habit."
NSW will look to places where prison smoking bans have been successfully introduced, such as the Northern Territory and New Zealand.
The NSW Public Service Association, which represents prison officers, said it supported the proposed ban but wanted to make sure staff safety wasn't put at risk in the process.
It's calling for a 12-month lead-in where prisoners can be eased off the smokes with patches and medical treatment.
The government would need to provide additional funding to make the ban work, the PSA said in a statement.
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