unreasonable burden for public finances24. Moreover, the conditions for the allocation of grants under ordinary law (age, qualification and resources), should also apply to prisoners. The Ministry of Higher Education and Research, which also shares this concern, has undertaken to include prisoners within the scheme for allocation of higher educational grants according to social criteria, in view of its objective of reduction of social inequalities. The circular of 2nd July 2014 concerning the terms of allocation of these grants was therefore amended in order to enable prisoners to have the benefit of grants allocated according to social criteria and aid granted within the framework of the National Emergency Assistance Fund (FNAU), under the same conditions as other students. 4.1.2 Electronic cigarettes as an additional lever of health education initiatives In the face of the increase in the supply of electronic cigarettes, the question of their use by prisoners, as well as by prison staff, has become a serious issue in the course of the past year. From the testimonies collected by the CGLPL it emerges that purchase thereof was, as a general rule, prohibited by directors of prisons, due to risks presented for the security of institutions. The security risks mentioned in different instances included the existence of a USB port, enabling recharging, as well as inappropriate use of the liquid contained in refills and risks of explosion of the battery. Health personnel, and those in charge of health education initiatives such as the fight against tobacco addiction in particular, were unable to recommend the use of this means of giving up smoking. On 16th December 2013, the CGLPL therefore referred the matter to the director of the prisons administration in order to be informed of her point of view with regard to this issue, the instructions given to heads of institution and, if necessary, to be provided with objective elements establishing grounds for the conclusion that they present risks for the security of institutions. Several months after this request, the CGLPL was informed of a note of 11th August 2014 issued by the prisons administration department, authorising the use of electronic cigarettes in prisons, for both staff and prisoners, under the same conditions as for the use of tobacco. This note specifies that, within the framework of cell allocation, prisoners using electronic cigarettes shall be considered smokers, that the purchase of electronic cigarettes, refills and chargers shall take place within the framework of the prison shop and that the sale thereof is prohibited as far as minors are concerned. 4.1.3 Adaptation of the national action plan to the specific nature of prisons, within the framework of the fight against heatwave temperatures Following the testimonies collected, in the course of the summer of 2013 in particular, and by virtue of its preventive mission, the CGLPL approached the prisons administration department, in order to ensure better adaptation to the prison environment of measures implemented in case of heatwaves. 24 In 2012, the prisons administration department listed 350 prisoners pursuing studies supervised by universities, University Institutes for Technology (IUT), the Centre national d’enseignement à distance (CNED / “National Distance Learning Centre”) and the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM / “National Conservatory for Arts and Professions”). 35