Cigarettes.

[Paul Marshall]

I think they should because if they are 18 and old enough to smoke, it's their live, you know?

[Valathous]

Yes but then the younger kids will just get cigerettes from the older kids. Also it would be a health hazard to those who are smoking. Smoking does not belong anywhere in schools.

[Paul Marshall]

^People will still rebel and smoke in the bathrooms anyway. They might as well give the students that smoke a room away from all the non-smokers. I think that would cause the rebelling to cease, plus there wouldn't be anymore smoking in the bathrooms, .

[Valathous]

No, they wouldnt rebel, but more kids would think that it's alright to smoke. This would lead to an increase in the amount of kids that are smoking and getting addicted to cigerettes. This would therefore lead to more cases of cancer and unhealthy youths.

[Paul Marshall]

Just by seeing anyone smoke on the street would lead to youths getting addicted so it wouldn't matter if schools did making a smoking room. Plus, they could just walk out to the parking lot after school and see some of the older teens smoking and that wouldn't be any different that making a room.

[Puck]

My parents said at there schools, they had these "smoking lounge" at there schools. However, I do not think it should be allowed. It would be abused beyond beleif and would make it too easy for other kids to get away with smoking.

[Paul Marshall]

^Which, again, would lead to more smoking at home.

[Kate Janeway]

No, just because it would seem like smoking was being encouraged.

[PrankishSmart]

I never thought people over 18 go to school. Well most are under 18.

At my Technical Institute (uni), people who wish to smoke in the morning, lunch and afternoon coffee breaks have to smoke outside the building, at least 5 meters away from the front door.

[Paul Marshall]

^Yes, some people do go to high school at 18 and older. Mostly because they got held back or didn't get enough credits, and that happens to more people than you think.

[Mikado]

No. Because it would encourage smoking, it would make kids think that's it alright to smoke. Especially the ones that don't understand what smoking does to you.

I think infact that smoking should be banned from public. "It's there life".

You've got to be kidding me. So if someone told you, "I'm going to kill myself."

You'd turn the otherway? Well, smoking is the same thing as suicide. It's not like drinking, where a little bit of it can be healthy. Or where it's not to damaging in small doses. Smoking kills people, and because it's their life, and their right to choice whether or not they smoke, doesn't make a difference.

It's a lame excuse to sit back and watch people kill themselves, and the people around them. More people die of cancer from second hand smoke then you realize, I'm sure. A person can not smoke their entire life, and die from lung cancer because of second hand smoke.

It's dangerous, and needs to be gotten a hold of.

[Paul Marshall]

[Mikado]

I bet you smoke.

And no it's not completely different. Smoking kills you. If you want proof, read the packages they come in. They have to have a warning on them for a reason.

Have you ever listened to someone who's been smoking their entire lives? You know, it's probably the most terrible sound that could ever come from a human being. It's a horrible, lung grating, throat scratching vomitting cough.

It's exactly the same. Smoking is the same as suicide. But it's worse, because you're killing the people around you as well.

[Oliver]

Smoking doesn't kill you. If it did, then every smoker would die much faster than they do now... The fact is, when you smoke, it increases the chance of getting some kind of cancer.

Anyway, I'm not a smoker and I will never become one. So to answer your question: no, smoking in schools, universities or any public place should be banned. The only place to smoke is outside and at home.

[harrykims#1fan]

we have designated smoking areas at college it seems to work because no one is allowed to smoke inside the college

[Paul Marshall]

[Kyre]

Tobacco use kills around 114,000 people in the UK every year, more than 300 every day - as if a plane crashed every day and killed all its passengers, around 20% of all deaths.

� About half of all regular cigarette smokers will eventually be killed by their habit.

� Smoking causes at least 80% of all deaths from lung cancer, around 80% of all deaths from bronchitis and emphysema and around 17% of all deaths from heart disease.

� Thirty per cent of all cancer deaths can be attributed to smoking. Cancers other than lung cancer which are linked to smoking include:

Cervical cancer
Cancers of the mouth, lip and throat
Cancer of the pancreas
Bladder cancer
Cancer of the kidney
Stomach cancer
Liver cancer
Leukaemia

Fewer than 10% of lung cancer patients survive five years after diagnosis.

� Men in the 15-64 age group in social class 5 are three times as likely to die of lung cancer as men in social class 1. Women in social class 5 are almost twice as likely to die of lung cancer as women in social class 1.

� Smokers who smoke between 1 and 14 cigarettes a day have eight times the risk of dying from lung cancer compared to non-smokers. Smokers who smoke more than 25 cigarettes a day have 25 times this risk compared to non-smokers.

� Cigarette smoking increases the risk of having a heart attack by two or three times, compared with the risk to non-smokers.

� About 90% of cases of peripheral vascular disease which lead to amputation of one or both legs are caused by smoking - about 2000 amputations a year in the UK.

� Women who smoke and take the contraceptive pill have 10 times the risk of a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular disease compared with those who take the pill but are non-smokers. Smoking has also been linked with an increased likelihood of menstrual problems (although not with PMT).

� Smoking leads to an earlier menopause: on average women smokers go through the menopause up to 2 years earlier than non-smokers and are at a greater risk of developing osteoporosis.

� Smoking has been associated with increased sperm abnormalities and with impotence in men.

� Smoking during pregnancy leads to an increased risk of:



- spontaneous abortion (miscarriage);

- bleeding during pregnancy;

- premature birth;

- low weight of babies at birth (which is associated with greater risks of ill-health and failure to thrive);

- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (cot death).

� The risks from smoking pipes and cigars can be as great as smoking cigarettes. Smokers who inhale pipe and cigar smoke are just as much at risk of developing lung cancer as cigarette smokers. All cigar and pipe smokers have a higher risk than anyone else of developing cancers of the lip, mouth and throat. This risk is even greater if the smoker is also a heavy drinker. Cigar smokers are also at greater risk of heart disease compared with people who do not smoke.

� People who smoke and drink alcohol regularly are at greater risk of mouth and throat cancers. One study found that among consumers of both products the risk of these cancers was increased more than 35-fold among those who smoked forty or more cigarettes a day and took more than four alcoholic drinks a day.

� There are some little-publicised health problems associated with smoking. It can affect both your sense of taste and smell. Smokers are more likely to develop facial wrinkles at a younger age and have dental hygiene problems. Stomach ulcers are made worse by smoking, and wounds, including surgical incisions, in smokers take longer to heal.

� Teenage smokers experience more asthma and respiratory symptoms than non-smokers, suffer poorer health, have more school absences and are less fit.

� Giving up smoking can reduce the risk of developing many of these problems. Within 10-15 years of giving up smoking, an ex-smoker's risk of developing lung cancer is only slightly greater than that of a non-smoker. A young smoker suffering from bronchitis or emphysema who gives up may see some improvement in lung function as a result: damage to lungs caused by years of smoking is permanent but quitting smoking prevents it worsening.

� Exposure to other people's tobacco smoke has also been linked with the following health problems in adults:



- increased sensitivity and reduced lung function in people with asthma;

- irritation of the eye, nose and throat;

- reduced lung function in adults with no chronic chest problems.

� Passive smoking also harms babies and children, with an increased risk of lower respiratory tract infection, increased severity of asthma symptoms, more frequent occurrence of chronic coughs, phlegm and wheezing, and increased risk of cot death and chronic middle ear effusion (glue ear).

� More than 17,000 children under the age of five are admitted to hospital every year because of the effects of passive smoking.

From http://www.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/basic02.html

So yeah, smoking doesn't kill you.

[Josi Rockholt]

^ actually it does, only not right away. With smoking, it actually shortens your lifespan and can kill unborn children (which was in your post.)

[Jeremy]

For some reason I think he was being sarcastic.

For the reasons outlined about, I don't think they should create smoking rooms.

[ILoveHarry]

Seriously, you if someone can't go a few hours with out a smoke... It's not like school is long, it's just several hours out of the day. There is no resson you can't smoke before and after if you really need too... but on your own time and on your own turf... in your car or walking home... whatever.

[Robsladey]

I don't see the harm in a little area to smoke in as long as it's used sensibly

[IntrepidIsMe]

I don't think it should be allowed. It's a disgusting habit and would only incourage others to do so (smoke). There is also always the possiblitly of second hand smoke.

[Starbuck]

Yes, they should. They should also have some sort of system that prevents other people from entering. For example, the place where my mom worked before had a special security system where you had to insert your ID into like a credit card slide, and only then would it open up the door. Then again, there's nothing preventing an older student opening the door for a younger student. So........... I still say yes.

[Paul Marshall]

[Puck]