Just say no to 'stinky butts'

COEUR d'ALENE - They kicked butts on wheels.

Local students who attend Idaho Distance Education Academy, an online public charter school, led the way Tuesday as dozens of students skated and said "No" to tobacco at Skate Plaza in Coeur d'Alene.

The pledge to stay smoke- and chew-free was initiated by 18 local IDEA students who are also members of STAND (Support Teens Against Nicotine Dependency), a program supported by the American Lung Association in Idaho.

"I want to help educate my community about the dangers of smoking and of secondhand smoke, and to help the kids make better choices in their lives, too," said Jeremy Aschenbrenner, a 15-year-old IDEA student and STAND member from Rathdrum.

The North Idaho skaters are among thousands of young people nationwide, who are making similar pledges today, the 16th annual Kick Butts Day, sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

The IDEA student organizers of the tobacco education and awareness event were the recipients of a $1,000 grant from the American Lung Association in Idaho. The grants were awarded to seven Idaho youth groups with original projects aimed at raising awareness.

In Idaho, health advocates are calling on state leaders to increase the cigarette tax by $1.25 per pack in order to prevent kids from smoking and raise much-needed revenue to address the state's budget shortfall and fund critical programs such as health care and education.

According to a report by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a $1.25 cigarette tax increase in Idaho would have the following benefits:

Raise 48.2 in new annual revenue

Prevent 12,500 kids from becoming smokers

Spur 7,800 current adult smokers to quit

Save 6,000 residents from premature, smoking-caused deaths and

Save 292.9 in health care costs

In Idaho, tobacco use claims 1,500 lives, and costs $319 million in health care bills each year. Currently, 14.5 percent of the state's high school students smoke, and 5,400 kids try cigarettes for the first time each year.