A group of teens hopes their peers will stop channel surfing long enough to get an important message: Smoking really stinks. "People don't think of (smoking) as a big deal. They think alcohol and drugs are a big deal. But smoking is just the same," said Beyer High sophomore Jayme Pennington.

Pennington is a member of "Teen Television -- Tobacco Talk." The group of 20 middle and high school students put on a monthly anti-tobacco television show. It airs on community television KAZV Channel 14.

The show joins teens in Youth Advocates Promoting Better Health (YAPBH) with students at area middle and high schools. Together they produce and star in the half-hour show.The Stanislaus County Health Services Agency sponsors the show as well as the teen advocate group.

"The media is where the kids are getting ripped off -- with TV, movies and ads glamorizing smoking," said program coordinator Donna Phillips, with the Health Services Agency. "So this way, we are feeding fire with fire, using the media ourselves."

Phillips, along with Joni Valponi from the Doctors Medical Foundation, have supervised the show since it began in November. A $3,000 grant from the Gold Country Tobacco Prevention Coalition funds six monthly programs.

The show is divided into four segments. The first, Teens Speak Out, is produced by guest schools. The other segments -- Face to Face (interviews), A Breath of Fresh Air (tips for quitting) and Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down (reviews of advertising) -- are done by YAPBH members.

So far guest segments have been taped by Somerset and Ustach middle school and Beyer High students. Downey High's peer support class will star in the March show.

Students said they hope their flickering images on screen will stop their friends from flicking their lighters on cigarettes.

"There are so many people we'll never get to," said Downey High junior Jelina Jones, the show's host. "But it's worth it. I wish everyone would care."

The next "Teen Television -- Tobacco Talk" airs at 6 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. March 26. Rebroadcasts air 8 a.m. March 27 and 3:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. March 28. The cable must be disconnected to receive KAZV Channel 14.

Reprinted by permission of Modesto Bee.