---
title: Why does ramen rule the prison economy?  - The Hustle
description: Ramen and tinned fish have replaced cigarettes as the most common currency at many jails.
image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2125441382-brief_2019-07-01T042736.090Z-1.webp
---

# Why does ramen rule the prison economy?

![Conor Grant](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/fMvkaHmG_400x400.jpg?width=48&height=48&name=fMvkaHmG_400x400.jpg) [Conor Grant](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/conor-grant)

Published:  June 30, 2020

Updated:  October 12, 2023

In jail, where inmates aren’t allowed to handle cold, hard cash, most people imagine the same stereotypical prison currency: cigarettes.

![Why does ramen rule the prison economy?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2125441382-brief_2019-07-01T042736.090Z-1.webp?width=595&height=400&name=2125441382-brief_2019-07-01T042736.090Z-1.webp)

But, [according to](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jun/19/prison-survival-guide-carl-cattermole-interview) Carl Cattermole — the author of *Prison: A Survival Guide* — tinned fish and ramen are the most common currency in jails.

#### **In prison, 2 soups are worth 1 sweatshirt**

A few things make cigarettes, fish, and ramen good currencies: They’re nonperishable, come in standard units, trade easily, and have intrinsic value.

In some prisons, inmates can buy a sweatshirt (worth $10.81 in the prison commissary) for 2 “soups” — or 5 hand-rolled cigarettes for 1 soup.

But why did ramen and tinned fish replace cigarettes at the top?

#### **Cost cuts and smoking bans gave rise to the ramen economy**

After US federal jails banned smoking in 2004, cigarettes became a less reliable currency than ramen or tinned fish. But, more importantly, cost cuts have made high-calorie ramen extremely valuable to hungry inmates.

An inmate [told](https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/08/26/491236253/ramen-noodles-are-now-the-prison-currency-of-choice) the author of a 2016 study, “’You can tell how good a man’s doing [financially] by how many soups he’s got in his locker. ‘Twenty soups? Oh, that guy’s doing good!’”

#### **Soup *****seems***** simple… **

But the ramen economy is [surprisingly complex](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/forget-cigarettes-theres-a-new-prison-currency/): Inmates can rack up debt with people who hold large ramen reserves, earn higher credit limits, and even refinance soup debts with different ramen reserve-holders.

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