PFD report

Imran Mahmood · Prevention of Future Deaths report

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Issued 4 Sep 2019•Staffordshire South

Report record

Published report and response evidence

This page connects the concerns raised in this report with statements found in recipients’ published responses. A link shows a clear evidence connection; it does not assign responsibility.

View original report
Concerns
2

Raised in this report

Recipients
1

Named on the report

Responses found
1

Of 1 recipient

Stated actions
1

Described in responses

Recipients and published responses

Source document

Full report text

This is the full text from the original published report.

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Concerns and recipient responses

Select any concern, action or position to view the source wording.

Concerns raised2

  1. E-cigarettes capable of starting fires
  2. E-cigarettes enabling drug use through accessible heating components
Responses linked to these concerns

Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.

Actions described in response An action is something a recipient says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to a concern raised.1

  1. Action

    Continue assessing commercially available alternative nicotine-delivery devices against security, safety and commercial criteria.

    Stated by HM Prison and Probation ServiceStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 22 November 2019.

Respondent positions A position is what a recipient says about a concern when it does not describe a specific action.2

  1. Position

    Products cannot be subsidised for prisoners, and cost constraints require available vaping devices to remain affordable.

    Stated by HM Prison and Probation ServiceUnable to actThe respondent said that a constraint prevented them from taking the relevant action.

Source evidence

How this individual concern was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. Response links show a clear evidence connection; they do not assign responsibility.

PFD Monitor interpretation

E-cigarettes capable of starting fires

Wider context from the report

“Imran had cooked the heroin he took by using the heating coil in an e-cigarette (vaping device). I have previously dealt with a prison death in similar circumstances. I am aware that prisoners should be allowed e-cigarettes should they want them. However they do present a danger not just by way of drug use but also the ability to start fires. I wonder if e-cigarettes used in the prison estate could be manufactured so that the heating component is in a sealed unit. ”

Is this part of a recurring concern?

No recurring-concern membership is currently published.

Open source report

Source evidence

How this individual concern was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. Response links show a clear evidence connection; they do not assign responsibility.

PFD Monitor interpretation

E-cigarettes enabling drug use through accessible heating components

Wider context from the report

“Imran had cooked the heroin he took by using the heating coil in an e-cigarette (vaping device). I have previously dealt with a prison death in similar circumstances. I am aware that prisoners should be allowed e-cigarettes should they want them. However they do present a danger not just by way of drug use but also the ability to start fires. I wonder if e-cigarettes used in the prison estate could be manufactured so that the heating component is in a sealed unit. ”

Is this part of a recurring concern?

No recurring-concern membership is currently published.

Open source report

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Continue assessing commercially available alternative nicotine-delivery devices against security, safety and commercial criteria.

Verbatim wording from the response

“We are aware of these risks and continue to seek the safest options available. We are not in a position to fund the development and manufacture of these products, so we are limited to what is commercially available. We are also constrained by cost, as we are not permitted to subsidise sales to prisoners and must offer products that are affordable to them. However, we are currently considering alternative vape devices, including a new device that is not an e-cigarette and has no electronics, batteries, heat or vapour, instead using vapourless technology to deliver a low dose of nicotine. If and when we identify an alternative device that is suitable on security, safety and commercial grounds we will make it available across the estate.”

Source location

2019-0355-Response-by-HM-Prison-and-Probation-Services
Page 2 · response
Published 22 November 2019

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Source evidence

How this respondent position was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Products cannot be subsidised for prisoners, and cost constraints require available vaping devices to remain affordable.

Verbatim wording from the response

“We are aware of these risks and continue to seek the safest options available. We are not in a position to fund the development and manufacture of these products, so we are limited to what is commercially available. We are also constrained by cost, as we are not permitted to subsidise sales to prisoners and must offer products that are affordable to them. However, we are currently considering alternative vape devices, including a new device that is not an e-cigarette and has no electronics, batteries, heat or vapour, instead using vapourless technology to deliver a low dose of nicotine. If and when we identify an alternative device that is suitable on security, safety and commercial grounds we will make it available across the estate.”

Source location

2019-0355-Response-by-HM-Prison-and-Probation-Services
Page 2 · response
Published 22 November 2019

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent position was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Development and manufacture of safer vaping products cannot be funded, limiting available options to commercially produced devices.

Verbatim wording from the response

“We are aware of these risks and continue to seek the safest options available. We are not in a position to fund the development and manufacture of these products, so we are limited to what is commercially available. We are also constrained by cost, as we are not permitted to subsidise sales to prisoners and must offer products that are affordable to them. However, we are currently considering alternative vape devices, including a new device that is not an e-cigarette and has no electronics, batteries, heat or vapour, instead using vapourless technology to deliver a low dose of nicotine. If and when we identify an alternative device that is suitable on security, safety and commercial grounds we will make it available across the estate.”

Source location

2019-0355-Response-by-HM-Prison-and-Probation-Services
Page 2 · response
Published 22 November 2019

Open published response
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Information checked against the published report and official responses · Data reviewed 7 Sep 2026 · About data quality and limitations

Data last updated 7 September 2026