posted
For a short time in the mid-1970s, smoking (by students) was allowed on a part of my high school campus. Unlike the situation in the article above, no parental permission was necessary.
Before that, it was done surreptitiously in the restrooms, or across the street in a park. To reverse that trend, it was allowed in a part of the outdoor commons. As a student, I was pleased to be able to use the men's room without emerging smelling like an ashtray.
That lasted for only a year or two, then the political tide turned again. Also, about that time, there was a lot of anti-smoking activism in California, which resulting in restrictions in smoking in public places or in the workplace.
Tough question. Ban an activity and force it to go underground, or permit it and seem to be condoning it. As far as I'm concerned, adults should be able to ruin their own bodies with whatever drugs they choose, but as the majority of US high school students are minors - under 18 -they're not supposed to be purchasing tobacco products or smoking, so that adds a different angle.
-------------------- Only when we remake ourselves can we remake the world. - Outer Limits (2001) Posts: 559 | From: Santa Cruz, CA | Registered: Aug 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
I was in high school in the early 90's and we had a smoking wall where teachers would look the other way. I never understood why kids would start smoking though. Aside from the health hazards we've known about for years, it's pretty disgusting. You could always tell who the smokers were because they would come into class reeking of cigarettes and in some cases cologne or perfume used in a weak attempt to cover the cigarette smell.
Posts: 835 | From: Massachusetts | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
If you look at UK Government facts ... er ... statistics then in the last thirty years the percentage of male smokers has halved and female smokers almost halved.
'Only' about a quarter of people aged 16 or over smoke in Britain.
ETA: This page gives more details. It appears that among under age smokers there are more female smokers than boys.
quote: In recent years girls have been more likely to smoke than boys. In 2004, 7 per cent of boys aged 11 to 15 in England were regular smokers (that is, they usually smoked at least one cigarette a week) compared with 10 per cent of girls.
The page also says that 73% of smokers want to give up and the number of heavy smokers has fallen.
quote:The proportion of respondents smoking on average 20 or more cigarettes a day fell from 14 per cent of men in 1990 to 9 per cent in 2004/05 and from 9 per cent of women to 6 per cent.
-------------------- Andrew, Ware, England Posts: 1709 | From: Ware, England | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
