Prisoners in Oklahoma Can Now Buy Vapes, Pouches from Commissary
Since early March 2026, Oklahoma has begun to allow prisoners to buy vapes and pouches from prison commissaries. While some jails have okayed these nicotine products, Oklahoma is only the second state prison system to do so after the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections allowed their purchase in 2019. This policy shift matters because roughly 70 to 80% of the incarcerated population are smokers, a rate that is far higher than the general public, as Filter reported.
But despite the large number of smokers behind bars, smoking is widely banned in most facilities. In 2006, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) removed tobacco from its commissaries; by 2014, smoking was officially outlawed for nearly all federal prisoners. Most state prisons, too, have some form of tobacco ban on the books.
Still, many prisoners smoke and take on the risk of possessing contraband as well as, in some cases, an additional source of debt. As the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC) Director Justin Farris said to local media when he justified the agency’s decision: “We are thinking we are going to reduce some of the contraband that comes into the prison and reduce some of the violence at the same time and keep a lot of these guys out of debt.”
Although Farris’s reasoning sounds admirable, the price of these products is steep. One disposable vape in Oklahoma prisons costs $11.50; only tobacco and menthol flavors are allowed and they are sold by Jail Puff, a company with the tagline, “Changing corrections one puff at a time.” The nicotine pouches come in a wider variety of flavors, such as Chewy Watermelon and Glacial Mint, and a pack of 21 costs $10.50. A DOC official told Filter that the agency receives a 20% cut on each sale of both products, but that the money will go to a fund to help prisoners afford hygiene supplies.
Outside of the cost, offering these alternatives to smoking, both of which are seen as less harmful than traditional cigarettes, could improve the health of prisoners who use nicotine.
Source: Filter
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