High Schools should have a designated smoking area

From an outside point-of-view, I am also very pleased with the maturity and grace with which you spoke. Let me continue as your opponent. 1. Free Choice. I think you are right in saying that a school is an, "institution dedicated to enhancing the knowledge, health and well-being of its students" but I would ask you this: does "well-being" include letting a child grow and develop their own decision making skills? would not getting rid of the smoking area after already teaching the children in school about the health risks of smoking only serve to demonstrate our mistrust in them? Also on this topic, what would the feelings be of the smokers themselves? To get rid of the smoke pit would send the message of, "We are getting rid of the smoking area because smoking is unhealthy, disgusting and bad", right? But, in doing this do we not directly say to the smokers attending the high school, "You are unhealthy, disgusting and bad"? I agree that all students should be taught the health risks of smoking; of course, for this is part of their right as human beings, to protect their body. But having students smoke in a specific area does not hurt anyone but themselves, and I believe that taking away even this right would leave the ground of health concerns and enter the ground of self-esteem battering. Also, I do happen to think that smoking is a case that is often singled out. I only want to mention this because of your phrasing, "it does not seem logical to . .. condone and enable an obviously unhealthy addiction". Forgive me for bringing up something only loosely related, but is not unhealthy eating an unhealthy addiction? From what I have heard about most school cafeterias in Canada, there is a plentiful supply of cookies, pastries, and greasy foods ("junk foods"). And, based on the facts below that I have found, I think this is a much larger issue than smoking. Number of people in Canada who are estimated to be obese: 2,989,142 (. http://www.statcan.gc.ca.... Statistics Canada,) Number of deaths in Canada in 2000 attributed to smoking: 45,064 (. http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca.... Public Health Agency of Canada) I use this example because schools readily provide these services. 2. You are arguing that the smoking area would be an, as you eloquently put it, "arena for peer pressure," and I think you are right. This is the point. I would argue that a designated smoking area would serve the purpose of containment. It will contain, as I have stated before, fire hazards, 2nd hand smoke, garbage and, your concern, peer pressure. I know that peer pressure exists and it will always exist, designated area or not. I believe it to be better to have all of the smokers and their influence (imagined or real) in one place, instead of all over the school, which is where it would be without a designated smoking area, whether the students were allowed to or not. 3. Lastly, I think that support rather than isolation would help student who are struggling. What I mean is, instead of telling students that they need to go find some other place to smoke off of school grounds, "deal with it" (I know this is not how it may be intended but it is how they will receive it), instead we should find ways, be it through clubs, support groups, councilors, etc, to help them stop wanting or needing to go to the smoking area. Having no area will not stop students from smoking, as I have previously proved. They will just do it somewhere else, with the consequences I have listed above. I think I have also covered the later topics in your reply, but please point out anything if you believe I haven't covered it. I await your reply!