Pubdate: Sun, 29 Sep 2002
Source: Gadsden Times, The (AL)
Copyright: 2002 The Gadsden Times
Contact:  http://www.gadsdentimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1203
Author: Greg Giuffrida, Associated Press Writer

TESTS TARGET TEEN SMOKERS

VESTAVIA HILLS - No longer a rite of passage smoked in the bathroom between 
classes, tobacco has increasingly become a ticket to trouble in public 
school districts that test to see if students have been puffing or chewing.

Opponents of such testing say it violates students' rights and can keep 
them out of the extracurricular activities they need most to stay on track.

But advocates say it's a natural extension of drug testing.

"Typically, tobacco is seen as a gateway drug," said Jeff McAlpin, director 
of marketing for EDPM, a Birmingham drug-testing company. "Some addicted 
drug users look back to cigarettes as the start of it all."

Testing students for drugs, usually through a urine sample, has spread in 
recent years and was given a boost in June by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling 
that affirmed random drug testing of those in extracurricular activities.

Adding tobacco to the normal battery of tests is simple, and while critics 
view it as a violation of student rights, many support the anti-smoking 
program.

"I agree with it," said 16-year-old Vestavia Hills High School junior 
Rosemary Stafford, a member of the marching band. "It's illegal, it's 
addictive. Maybe the punishment shouldn't be as severe, but they should 
test for it."

The number of school districts that test for tobacco is difficult to 
determine because drug testing policies are enacted locally. But a 
preliminary case study of nine schools nationwide by the Institute for 
Behavior and Health in Rockville, Md., showed that four were testing for 
nicotine.

In Alabama, about a dozen districts, mostly in the Birmingham area, test 
for nicotine along with alcohol and several drugs, including marijuana. In 
most cases, the penalties for testing positive for continine - a metabolite 
that remains in the body following tobacco use - are the same as those for 
illicit narcotics.

After testing positive for any drug, a student's parents are notified and 
the student is usually placed on probation and briefly suspended from 
sports or other activities.

"Tobacco is illegal for them to have - it's also a health and safety 
issue," said Phil Hastings, supervisor of safety and alternative education 
for schools in Decatur, which recently adopted a testing program that 
includes tobacco.

"We've got a responsibility to let the kids know the dangers of tobacco 
use," Hastings said.

While the overall issue of random drug testing of students is being 
combatted by the American Civil Liberties Union and students' rights 
groups, the addition of nicotine testing has drawn little opposition.

"It's shocking to many people that about 30 percent of high school seniors 
are regular cigarette smokers. Here we are, 38 years after the surgeon 
general's report, and it's still a real concern," said Dr. Robert DuPont, 
principal investigator for the Institute for Behavior and Health.

Although nicotine is not intoxicating and is legal for adults, DuPont hopes 
that penalties that encourage quitting rather than punishment will reduce 
tobacco use.

"'Just Say No' has become a trite expression," said Hoover High School 
Principal Gene Godwin. "It doesn't mean anything anymore. Testing gives 
kids the excuse to say no."

Some school districts are considering policies based on guidelines 
published last month by the White House's Office of Drug Control Policy, 
which doesn't specifically address tobacco testing.

"On tobacco, we have the same policy as on testing for drugs - it may not 
be right for every school and community," said Jennifer de Vallance, press 
secretary for the office. "We encourage parents and officials to assess the 
extent and nature of the tobacco problem."

Opponents to drug testing are hard to find in most schools, partly out of 
fear that those who speak out will be branded as drug users.

Several students at Vestavia Hills and Hoover high schools who said they 
oppose testing - especially for tobacco - refused to give their names 
during interviews.

Their fear may be well-founded.

For Vestavia Hills clarinet player Ahlina Daryab, 17, opposing testing is 
an obvious indicator: "The ones who are using drugs are the ones who oppose 
it, because they'll get caught."

But there is some concern that drug testing of students in after-school 
activities is targeting those students least likely to be using drugs.

Shawn Heller, executive director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy in 
Washington, D.C., said tobacco use by teenagers is a major problem, but 
testing for it is just another step in the invasion of students' privacy.

"We're making schools like prisons," he said.
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