A Brush With Tobacco, A Brush Against It Cold Youths Say Smoking Not Cool, Paint Smokeout Logo Near Bridge As Contribution To National Campaign

(From For the Record, November 24, 1996:) Minors under the age of 18 caught smoking or chewing tobacco can face penalities ranging from fines to community service. A story in last Tuesday’s paper incorrectly described the tobacco laws.

Fifteen Spokane high school kids withstood the wind and cold Monday night to take a stand against teen smoking.

They painted the Great American Smokeout logo on “The Wall” north of the Monroe Street Bridge, hoping to persuade their peers to say no to tobacco.

Ex-smoker Darcie Jones, a University High senior, was part of the Spokane Teens Against Tobacco paint crew.

She puffed her last cigarette on Feb. 1, 1995.

“I was just determined to do it,” the student athlete said. “I started out doing it just because I wanted to be cool.”

The Wall’s new look is designed to draw attention to Thursday’s smokeout, organized each year by the American Cancer Society. And to a disturbing rise of teen smokers.

While The Wall was being painted, two teens lighted cigarettes while waiting for a downtown bus.

James McDaniel and Marissa Ellestae, both 16, said they’ve tried to quit. But they aren’t interested in trying again this week, or anytime soon.

“I’ve been smoking for seven years,” McDaniel said. “My mom smoked when she was pregnant with me, my dad smokes, all my family smokes.”

McDaniel isn’t worried about health problems associated with smoking, like lung cancer and emphysema.

“You’re going to die of something,” he said. “Heck, my grandfather is 69, and he’s smoked for most of his life. My grandmother died at 59, and she never smoked.”

Ellestae said she’s concerned about the health risks, but added, “I just love the taste of cigarettes.”

They are part of a trend that’s alarming health officials nationwide.

The percentage of high school students who reported having smoked increased from 28 percent in 1991 to 35 percent in 1994, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ellestae is in the choir at North Central High. She enjoys singing, but said it’s hard because she can’t draw a full breath.

“I don’t think I can run a full block without getting tired,” she said.

Neither McDaniel nor Ellestae is old enough to buy cigarettes - 18 is the legal limit - but they said that’s not a problem. They’ve both got older friends who buy smokes for them.

Marc Hughes of the Spokane County Health District hopes McDaniel, Ellestae and other teen smokers will seriously consider kicking the habit this week.

“It’s really tough reaching teens,” Hughes said. “It’s really important for them to realize that it’s better to quit for the benefit of their health.”

Though it’s illegal for minors to purchase cigarettes, possession carries no penalty.

“If a kid walks across school premises with a beer, he’s going to be suspended,” Hughes said. “But it’s acceptable to do it with a cigarette. I’d like to see that changed.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: TOBACCO AND TEENS How you can help children shun cigarettes: Talk. Children whose parents don’t talk to them regularly are at greater risk for experimenting with cigarettes. Make a point of discussing your children’s lives and feelings. Make sure you know their friends and their friend’s parents. That will help you find out if a friend is smoking. Help them decode ads. Children first become susceptible to the images in cigarette ads in fourth or fifth grade. Urge them to identify seductive images and ads targeted to different groups of people. Give them a reality check. Point out that, despite what the ads suggest, the vast majority of adults do not smoke and many no longer tolerate the practice in public. Emphasize health. Kids are notoriously unconcerned about getting sick. Tell them teenage smokers have weaker lungs, cough more and suffer worse upper-respiratory infections. Young athletes don’t perform as well if they smoke. Emphasize addiction. Nicotine is so addictive that some experts compare it to heroin. Once hooked, kids find it just as hard to kick the habit as adults do. There’s no way to predict which kids will become addicted. Don’t smoke. if you are a smoker and are unable or unwilling to quit, at least explain to your children that you are in the grip of a fearsome addiction, and hide your cigarettes. Smoke less in front of your children and make their rooms smoke-free zones. Source: Consumer Reports, published by Consumers Union, an independent nonprofit testing and information gathering organization. Cox News Service