Jail prisoners aren't particularly happy about a looming smoking ban at the Yukon's sole prison, but they realize they can't fight it, says a member of the inmate committee.

'Nobody really wants it to happen but it's inevitable,' said James Barnes, a current member of the committee who also served on the panel when the plan was first put to the inmates.

'It was a matter of time (before a ban was put in place) and once they brought it up last year, we knew it was coming,' Barnes said in an interview Wednesday.

'We were just hoping it was later than sooner but we've been given almost a year to accept the fact that it is going to be happening.'

The majority of Whitehorse Correctional Centre inmates smoke, as do many of the jail employees, Barnes said.

In an interview earlier this week, WCC superintendent Sharon Hickey said the decision was made to make the current jail non-smoking after plans to build a new facility which was going to forbid lighting up were iced.

Both staff and inmates have complained about smoke in the 37-year-old jail, Hickey noted.

She said the smoking ban will be imposed in the next six to eight weeks, after jail guards are given additional training in dealing with extra-cranky inmates and prisoners are given help to quit smoking.

'I know I get pretty crabby when I don't have a smoke for a few days,' chuckled Barnes.

'The tension will be a little bit higher for a couple of months, until people get used to the idea that you're not allowed to smoke.'

The smoking ban won't completely eradicate smokes from WCC, Barnes said.

'It's just like any other kind of contraband in the jail; if you're not allowed to have it and you want it, and find a way to get it in, it's going to make its way in eventually. It's just a matter of time.'

The black market in jails forces prices up significantly, Barnes explained.

He's heard of single cigarettes selling for anywhere between $5 and $10, and lighters changing hands for $20.