Some of Quebec's most notorious criminals say the no-smoking policy in prison is making their time behind bars unbearable.

Convicts like drug trafficker Gerald Matticks and murderers Benoit Guimond and Daniel Patry have hired lawyer Julius Grey to fight for their right to smoke cigarettes while in in jail.

Inmates are not allowed to smoke in prison, whether in their cells or outdoors.

"The sentence in a penitentiary is in itself hard to bear, and is very difficult for a person to go through, and there's no reason to make it worse," said Grey.

Grey is arguing in federal court that the ban violates the charter of rights, and is outside the jurisdiction of prison authorities.

The Correctional Service of Canada will argue that it has both the authority and the duty to ban smoking inside its 52 penitentiaries.

But according to former inmate turned drug counsellor Clement Proulx, tobacco behind bars is not a luxury.

"Take something from them in an environment like that and it's going to create a lot of problems," said Proulx.

"The first unwritten rule about prison is anything that calms them down will keep them from aggressions on civilians," he added.

The convicts, despite their often-violent past, say their inability to smoke makes them stressed, angry and aggressive, which in turn could make prison very dangerous for themselves and others.

Still, the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers supports the total ban, saying tensions have actually decreased since it was implemented last year.

"In the year and a half since the tobacco ban, we have not seen one single incident that can be attributed to the ban on tobacco," said union spokesperson Lyle Stewart.