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A 16-year-old Canberra schoolgirl has been allowed to take cigarette breaks at school because her doctor says she is clinically addicted to nicotine.
Tara Lewis is allowed to smoke between classes to relieve the "stress" of her Year 10 studies.
Stromlo High School has granted the concession despite the law banning the supply of cigarettes to anybody under 18, Sydney's Sunday Telegraph reported yesterday.
The Australian Capital Territory Government allows smoking at five selected Year 11 and 12 colleges in the territory and will introduce a total ban only from January 1.
Tara said it was a "massive" relief to be able to smoke at school as it helped to calm her.
Tara's mother, Patrece, said: "We were worried that she wasn't going to finish Year 10 if she couldn't smoke."
A ACT Department of Education spokesman said Tara was allowed to leave the school during lunch breaks due to "exceptional circumstances".
"We were trying to work out the best way to get her through Year 10."
Anti-smoking campaigner Anne Jones, of Action on Smoking and Health, said the school was reckless in facilitating Tara's addiction.
"It's unconscionable ... They have obviously been conned by her."
Ms Jones said the school should be giving Tara nicotine patches or gum.
Tara's mother, also a smoker, said the situation reached breaking point when her daughter was placed on detention, and prevented from leaving the school grounds. "She was really stressed. She just calms down if she has got a cigarette; otherwise she storms in the door, cranky and angry."
Tara's mother said she had started rewarding her with just six cigarettes a day if she did chores and behaved at school. "It's not like I want my kid to smoke. I've done everything to get her to stop it, so if I can control it and say, 'when you can have a cigarette, you do chores', that might help."
In NZ, smoking at schools and supplying tobacco to under-18s is banned by a 2004 law. Secondary Principals Association president Peter Gall said he could not envisage any NZ school letting its students smoke.
Pupils smoking was an occasional problem, said Mr Gall, but the number of incidents had declined dramatically since the law was introduced.
