By Jean Mcmillan
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, April 15, 1998; 4:43 a.m. EDT

BOSTON (AP) -- The war on teen smoking is heading to the toilet.

The oldest bastion of student smoking, boys' and girls' restrooms, is increasingly being targeted by school officials across the country.

Students were locked out of the Manchester-by-the-Sea High School restrooms during class periods for three weeks last month. Students protested and health officials ordered the toilets reopened.

``What it was doing was punishing 400 students for the actions of about 10 students,'' said Bre Quinn, 18, president of the Student Council.

Similar battles are being waged in states such as Arkansas, where the Hartford high school principal began locking bathroom doors last month. Schools in Glen Burnie, Md., have had doorless bathroom stalls for six years to prevent smokers from hiding.

In Hawaii, the Department of Health told complaining students that it can't force schools to keep bathrooms open all the time. And in New Jersey, administrators in one district have won a partial victory in their fight to control the lavatories.

The debates are flaring up as states spend millions to get young people to kick the habit, while federal studies show more are smoking than ever.

Forty-three percent of the nation's high school students either smoke cigarettes or cigars or chew tobacco, according to a report released this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The findings, based on a 1997 survey of 16,000 students, indicate the percentage of high school students smoking was 36.4 percent, up from 34.8 percent in 1995.

Manchester-by-the-Sea vice principal Paul Murphy said his 450-student school, about 20 miles northeast of Boston, used to have only a small number of student smokers.

Now, he said, all groups of students are smoking, including an increasing number of girls.

``Smoking is out of control,'' Murphy said. ``It's out of control all over the country.''

In Florence, N.J., administrators tried a plan that required students who had to go to the bathroom during class to sign out of the classroom, in and out of the bathroom, and back into class.

``I really believe we have a moral obligation to keep them (students) safe,'' said Florence Superintendent Diane DeGiacomo.

An uproar over the policy sidelined the efforts, but administrators were not deterred.

DeGiacomo said the Department of Community Affairs recently ruled that schools can limit access to bathrooms as long as students don't have to wait too long in lines.

So when students return from spring break next week, they will find a less severe crackdown, with only the second-floor bathrooms locked.

School officials said they have smoking cessation and educational programs for their students, but need penalties as well. Many schools impose fines, detention and suspension.

DeGiacomo said Florence students caught smoking three times go to court. So far two students have been sentenced to 30 hours of community service, she said.

Manchester-by-the-Sea voters last week approved a bylaw that says anyone caught smoking on school grounds will be subject to a $50 fine, starting next year.

Ms. Quinn, the Student Council president, said the law is better than having administrators stand by as students rush to use the bathrooms in between classes.