By Andrea Uhde
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Celebrities who smoke aren't cool.

That's the opinion of Cincinnati teens, according to a survey released Thursday by Stand, an Ohio group against teen tobacco use.

Teens would also like to see singer Justin Timberlake and rapper 50 Cent speak against tobacco use, results said.

Local Stand youth activists announced these findings at the Hamilton County Coroner's Office. Meanwhile, 52 Stand members went to MTV in New York City's Times Square to ask the entertainment industry to stop showing celebrities using tobacco on TV. They took with them a petition with the names of more than 7,000 Ohio teens who oppose tobacco use.

The group sent 52 teens because that's the number of people who die every day in Ohio from tobacco-related illnesses, said 17-year-old Khoa Nguyen, a member of Stand's teen advisory panel.

"It's part of youth standing up against the industry and saying we're not going to take this any longer," said Nguyen, of Mason. "We're not going to fall into the trap and become one of those 52 people."

Stand members in Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Toledo also gathered to announce local survey results.

The Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation began the Stand campaign in February 2002 to address the rates of tobacco use among Ohio youth. One goal of Stand, which is partly led by a panel of teens educated on the effects of tobacco, is to decrease tobacco use within four years.

For more information on Stand, visit www.standohio.org or www.standonline.org.

E-mail auhde@enquirer.com