To think that 13/14 year olds don't need to stand outside school having a cigarette at 8am in the morning?

[Sparklingbrook]

I happened to drop DS2 at Primary this morning. He usually cycles to school. They must have chosen to smoke there instead of outside their own school.
It just made me

[WorraLiberty]

Maybe they don't see it as 'cool'

Maybe they just needed a fag because they're addicted to the nicotine in them?

Not all teenagers care about what's 'cool' and what's not.

[Sparklingbrook]

I am guessing they aren't wandering into the local newsagents in their uniforms and buying cigarettes?

[Latara]

I never thought about it when i was a teenager; other girls either smoked or they didnt' - i didn't because i just wasn't interested.

But now i'm very anti-smoking due to a lot of the relatively young patients (age 42 upwards) who have smoking-related illnesses & also deaths i've witnessed at work (at a hospital) - ironically lots of healthcare workers see all that & still smoke including one guy i know who does spirometry tests for emphysema - it's crazy!

An ex-heroin addict i knew told me that giving up smoking is harder than giving up heroin; i know so many mid 20s - mid 30s women who are trying & constantly failing to give up even though they've seen the results of smoking.

So the best thing is to never start.
If i was a teacher i'd be sacked by now. I would go up to those girls, snatch the fags off them & stamp on them... sorry, but i would, i'd be a bossy nightmare!!

[Sparklingbrook]

It's seeing things through the DCs eyes that has changed things for me. And the fact that they have no paternal Grandparents due to them smoking.

[Housewifefromheaven]

We used to buy ours as single cigarettes from the shop nearest the school.

And if we were desperate we'd 'twos up' with a friend. Yuck!!

[Housewifefromheaven]

Ive seen the light and have stopped now. I must say though that I don't like seeing it, it happend today outside my kids school. It did look shocking, but what can you do?

[McHappyPants2012]

sadly they are addicted to smoking, before I gave up i would have one when i woke up 5am, then one after getting ready, 1 on the bus stopthen 2 before i went into work at 7am. I had it in my head i needed to built up the nicotine levels.

[Sparklingbrook]

How do they last all day in school without one?

[TheOneWithTheHair]

They smoke at school too. Ds1's school has a well concealed tree they go behind. Apparently the pastoral care teacher would stomp loudly around and say he'd be back in ten minutes to give them time to get rid of the evidence. It would seem he couldn't be arsed to deal with it.

[MsVestibule]

Maybe they don't see it as 'cool'

Maybe they just needed a fag because they're addicted to the nicotine in them?

Not all teenagers care about what's 'cool' and what's not.

Worra, I'm sure you're right and some of them are now addicted. But I can't believe they had their first cigarette because they actually enjoyed it. I know some will try out of curiosity (I did) but that should be enough to put them off! I'd have thought it takes a takes a bit of persistence to get addicted? And why continue, if not to look cool?

OP, I wouldn't be happy about school children smoking outside my DCs primary school but I'd probably be too much of a wuss to say anything. Maybe I'd tut loudly, that'd learn 'em .

[SammyTheSwedishSquirrel]

My school would have expelled anyone caught smoking while in school uniform.

[hoodoo12345]

This is posted on my my DD secondary school website:

A Message to all smokers,

Any person whose breath smells of smoke will be fined £5, failure to pay in full by 9am the following morning will be punished by detention each break every day until the fine is paid.
Money will go to Cancer Research.

[WorraLiberty]

Fair point MsV It took me quite a while and I did used to think it was cool at first

hoodoo that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen.

[Sparklingbrook]

Why ridiculous Worra? I think it's a good idea.

[SammyTheSwedishSquirrel]

I thought it was a good idea too.

[McHappyPants2012]

hoodoo the school can not enforce that and as a parent I would not pay and get the LEA involved.

Sammy the school can not just expel a child for smoking

[MsVestibule]

But surely chewing gum/breath freshener would get rid of the smell? How do they monitor it - line them up and ask the pupils to breathe on them?

[Sparklingbrook]

So are you all in favour of schoolchildren smoking McHappy?

Perhaps threat of expulsion may deter smokers.

[SammyTheSwedishSquirrel]

McHappyPants, mine would. But we're talking private school 30 years ago. (Although as far as I'm aware it's still one of the school rules.)

[kakapo]

As a parent you wouldn't have to pay though, McHappy. Why would you complain about the school taking a no tolerance approach to smoking?

[McHappyPants2012]

I am not in favour of school children smoking, but fining a child £5 for an addiction is a stupid idea.

[WorraLiberty]

Why ridiculous?

Well firstly who gets to decide whether someone's breath smells of smoke? That's far too subjective and invasive if the child has to breathe in the teacher's face to prove they haven't been smoking.

Secondly, are they allowed to buy their way out of other detentions too?

Forget your PE kit? Never mind, you can either do an hour after school tomorrow or stump up a fiver.

It's bonkers Lol

[Sparklingbrook]

I would imagine wafting into school stinking like an ashtray would give a clue they are smoking. i think the school should at least ring the parents if they suspect there is under age smoking going on.

[fatlazymummy]

It doesn't matter how much cigarettes cost in shops, or how stringent ID checks are. Many of the teenagers will be buying them illegally [from dealers] or stealing them from adults.
As far as I can gather from my 15 year old son teenagers smoking does seem to have dropped off a little bit. It was probably 5o/50 in my day [the 70's], at his school at least it's a lot lot lower.
I haven't been asked to buy fags for teenagers for a few years now . Personally I believe smoking rates will continue to fall over all age groups.