French schools cite terrorism as reason to lift smoking ban

PARIS – French high schools say students should be allowed to smoke on school grounds so that they don't become terrorist targets when they gather for cigarette breaks on the street outside.

A leading union of school administrators first made the request five days after the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead and 350 wounded. Following a refusal by the Health Ministry, the SNPDEN union last week renewed its call for a loosening of the school smoking ban as long as France remains under a state of emergency.

Around one-third of French teens between 15 and 19 years old smoke, according to government statistics.