A court ruling in France later this week will decide whether or not school students will be allowed to smoke in schools after last November’s terror attacks in Paris.
Ever since 130 people were killed in the French capital late last year, many schools have allowed students to light up within school grounds to avoid them gathering in large groups and becoming potential targets for attacks.
The ruling came from the French government, who sent around a circular to schools allowing them to set up “designated areas within the schools […] to avoid having students leave the high school between periods.”
“As a way to avoid crowds gathering outside of high schools, some principals are temporarily allowing students to smoke within the school grounds, in designated, open-air areas,” a spokesperson for the government told Vice.com.
Although the authorities insist that the move is only temporary, anti-smoking groups are up in arms over the potential consequences of relaxing any of the country’s laws around smoking in public places.
Now, a court outside Paris will rule before the end of this week against a school in Courbevoie, which is a northwestern suburb of the capital.
“It is disastrous for public health because we are exposing very young people to tobacco. Many of these establishments are both high schools and secondary schools, with children as young as 11,” said Stephen Lequet of non-smoking rights group, the DNF.
“Above all we are making the act of smoking seem normal again.”
One in three French 17-year-olds smoke, and doctor Alain Rigaud of the National Association for Alcohol and Addiction Prevention believes the health concerns outweigh any trepidation about Jihadist attacks.
“Smoking already affects close to a third of French high school students, and if the smokers are invited back into the playground, habits will be picked up,” the doctor said.
“According to the testimonies we have received, there are already 30 or so high schools in the Île de France [the region around Paris] that allow smoking — that’s way too many.”
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