TEEN SMOKERS FACE SPORT BAN

Teenage students who smoke could be banned from playing sport for
their school under an anti-smoking program being considered for South
Australia schools.

The Anti-Cancer Foundation will lobby the State Government to
introduce the program, which has already proved a huge success in the
American state of Florida.

The foundation said the program could save up to 420 lives a year from
smoking-related illnesses.

Dr Kerry Kirke, executive director of the South Australian Anti-Cancer
Foundation, said if this State could repeat the results achieved in
Florida, smoking by high school students would drop by 20 per cent a
year.

"About two thirds of children who start smoking during their teenage
years continue to smoke throughout their life, and half these will die
from smoking caused illnesses, beginning in their late 20s and early
30s," Dr Kirke said.

"If we could achieve the reduction in smoking among our schoolchildren
shown by Florida, we could expect 1260 fewer children smokers each
year of the program.

"This would translate each year into 420 fewer future tobacco-caused
deaths from lung cancer, heart disease, stroke and other diseases.

"If something can be shown to work in Florida, we would have a look at
it, adapt it and adopt it so it is successful here."

The Florida program, launched two years ago, v included peer support
and education, the use of magazines, songs and extra curricula activities.

Funding would come from the State Government's $3.9 million Tobacco
Control Strategy budget.

vAccording to an Anti-Cancer Foundation survey, one third of South
Australian's aged 16 and 17 had smoked a cigarette in the past four
weeks, and one in five in the past seven days.

For those aged between 12 and 15, one fifth had smoked in the past
month and over 15 per cent in the past week.