PRISON officers rejected the prospect of danger pay yesterday for inhaling second hand smoke as they called for an outright ban on prisoners sparking up behind bars.

The government is gradually rolling out a ban on smoking in jails, with a tranche of high-security establishments set to stub out the practice in the summer.

The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) has criticised ministers for acting too slowly, saying workers’ lives are being endangered by second-hand smoke.

But fears have been raised that banning smoking will lead to a spike in the rates of rioting and self-harm, as well as an increase in the use of new psychoactive substances such as spice — a synthetic cannabis.

Delegates at the POA conference heard calls for an allowance to be paid to all staff “for having to put up with secondary smoke.”

Durham delegate Craig Robson said the union should demand compensation now rather than waiting for the ban to come into force.

“Even when you leave the door closed for 30 minutes, you can still smell and taste the smoke when the prisoner comes out of the cell,” he said.

But Swaleside delegate Dave Cook successfully urged the conference to vote down the proposal.

“If we’re asking for allowances then we’re effectively saying our health is for sale,” he warned.

POA executive member Terry Fullerton said the union should instead instruct officers to follow existing prison service protocols allowing officers to withdraw from smoky environments.

Tobacco is often used in jails as an alternative currency. It is thought around 80 per cent of male prisoners smoke.