The 15-hour riot experienced at a Melbourne maximum security prison during the week is a graphic example of what can go wrong when pushing too hard to introduce such policies.

Hundreds of prisoners caused mayhem at the Ravenhall centre the day before the smoking ban was due to come into place, lighting fires, smashing doors and windows and leaving a damages bill estimated to be as high as $10 million. NSW authorities are scrambling to learn what they can from the Victorian experience before they attempt to do the same in a month's time.

A number of jurisdictions have already made their jails smoke-free, starting with the Northern Territory in 2013. Such change is inevitable in the ACT too, but is it worth risking riots to achieve?

In an ideal world, all government-regulated facilities, including prisons, would be smoke-free. But in a prison where the number of inmates testing positive for methamphetamine nearly doubled, and many inmates have to wait to access treatment services, smoking, which is already limited to specific areas, would seem to be a lesser evil.

Like it or not, smoking is still a legal activity in our society and smokers are vastly over-represented in prison. It is a highly addictive habit that is incredibly difficult to break, even for those who have the rest of their lives on track. If we are not prepared to commit to a full public ban of smoking in the general community, is it fair or just cruel to demand it of prisoners who are often already dealing with mental health, drug and alcohol problems.

The focus of modern prisons is no longer on punishing offenders, but on rehabilitating them. Smoking is on the decline in society, and the day will come when it makes sense to ban it completely, including in prisons.

But if our focus is on supporting prisoners to turn their lives around and become better people, surely there are more important issues to assist them with first before forcing them to give up an activity that the rest of the community is not quite ready to completely give up.