SOME ALABAMA STUDENTS MUST PASS TOBACCO TEST TO PLAY SPORTS

HOOVER, Alabama (CNN) -- Schools in a Birmingham, Alabama, suburb have begun
testing student athletes for tobacco as well as alcohol and drugs.

"It's a strong statement for us athletically to take a stand against the
tobacco industry," said Rush Propst, head football coach at Hoover High
School, the largest secondary school in Alabama.

"I just don't think athletes need to smoke. I don't think any kids need to
smoke," said the coach.

A new government study indicates that smoking among high school students
fell slightly last year and government analysts attributed the drop in part
to prevention programs.

Hoover quarterback Lance Rhodes admits some of his teammates smoke.

"At our school, yes sir, there's a few that do, a few that have quit because
we've set it straight at our school," said Rhodes.

No Objections From Parents Or Students

The testing is random, but officials say at least half the athletes in all
sports will be tested -- and re-tested regularly if they fail. Students get
three chances before punishment is imposed.

When an athlete's urine sample tests positive for tobacco, officials will
first notify the parents and tell the student to quit:

A second positive test will land the student athlete in a tobacco education
course, which will be followed by further testing.

Officials in Hoover say at least half of the athletes in all sports will be
tested for tobacco

The third offense will get athletes suspended from one-quarter of their
upcoming athletic contests.

Hoover's policy stops short of a total ban on student smoking, but it's an
incentive for athletes not to smoke. Middle school athletes will also be
tested and school district officials say neither parents nor students have
objected.

"I'm very proud to be part of a community that agrees with this," said
parent Rhonda Spanhour.

ACLU Warns Against Setting Precedent

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 34.8 percent of high
school students nationwide in 1999 reported they had smoked a cigarette in
the previous 30 days. That was down from 36.4 percent in 1997 and the first
overall decline since government's first such study, in 1991.

Surgeon General David Satcher said the CDC study offers hope that teen
smoking figures had peaked. But he said only 5 percent of American schools
have adopted the CDC's guidelines for discouraging smoking.

"Failure to effectively use every intervention strategy available to help
our young people would be a tragic mistake," Satcher said in a statement
last week.

The federal government wants to cut teen smoking by half, to about 16
percent, by the year 2010.

Hoover is not the first school to test students for tobacco. Students at
some schools in Wisconsin and Virginia also face such tests.

As for legal challenges to the testing policy at Hoover, Athletic Director
Ron Swann said the courts are on their side.

"If you participate in something after school hours, then you can pretty
much put on them the rules that the community wants for you to have on that
group of students," said Hoover Athletic Director Ron Swann.

The American Civil Liberties Union concedes that as long as students and
parents agree to the testing, it's probably legal, but thinks it could set a
dangerous precedent.

"Once Big Brother starts on the path towards chemical testing, who knows
when that will end?" said Arthur Spitzer of the ACLU.