The survey shows a high number of children have tried cigarillos which are flavoured to taste like anything but a raunchy stogie.

The findings come from the 2006-2007 Youth Smoking Survey released today by the University of Waterloo. About 71,000 students in Grades 5 to 12 in 467 schools across Canada were surveyed during the 2006-2007 school year.

"These results are disturbing," says Rob Cunningham of the Canadian Cancer Society. "Cigarillos are appealing to teenagers because they come in flavours such as fruit, candy and ice cream. The Canadian Cancer Society calls for federal and provincial legislation to curb the use of these tobacco products among Canadian youth, including banning flavoured cigarillos."

The findings show that teenagers in Grades 10-12 use cigars and cigarillos the most. Thirty-five per cent said they had tried cigars, cigarillos and little cigars (39.5 per cent were boys and 30 per cent were girls), while 48 per cent had tried cigarettes.

"Teenagers are very vulnerable to trying tobacco products," says Cunningham. "There is a risk that cigarillos, which can be just as addictive as cigarettes, could be a starter product for kids who would never start smoking."

He adds that cigarillos can be cheaper to buy than cigarettes because they come in smaller quantities and are easier to obtain because they are not regulated in the same way. As well, the health warnings on cigarillos are much less prominent and there are no health warnings at all on individually packaged cigarillos.

There was, however, some good news in the report. For example, the average age of first smoking a whole cigarette for students in Grades 5-9 has increased slightly, from 11.8 years in 2004-05, to 12.0 years in 2006-07.

Also, the number of kids in Grades 5-9 who have ever dabbled with tobacco has been more than halved since 1994. It is 21 per cent now, compared to 45 per cent back then.

That rate of 21 per cent is the same as it was in 2004. But it leaves the question of why the smoking level has plateaued.

A certain percentage of humans have always, and will always, test out, or experiment with, things they deep down know are not good for them.

We seem to be at the point of diminishing returns with anti-smoking education. While such measures must continue, it's time to come up with the next step that will take that number even lower.

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NO EXCUSE FOR DELAY OF NEW POLICE STATION

Grimsby, Lincoln and West Lincoln are geographically far removed from the larger centres of Niagara. With lengthy expanses of rural roads and many isolated areas, and long distances in between communities - that likely seem longer when you are waiting for back-up - the members of the Niagara Regional Police Service's 8 District are familiar with the challenges of policing in Niagara West.

And those are only a few of the reasons the west end needs its own police station.

Plans to replace the 30-year-old facility on Bartlett Street in Grimsby are well underway with land purchased on Clarke Street and a project manager hired to oversee design and construction.

So why is Regional Niagara now holding up the process?

While $2.5 million was approved for the project back in 2003, the Region must still provide full approval for an additional $1 million needed for the project, which now has a $3.5 million price tag. That additional $1 million, said Grimsby Mayor Bob Bentley, became an issue at a Corporate Services meeting at the Region last Wednesday.

Bentley said the funding seems to be tied into the overall facilities review, which is to be done by a police facilities committee created two months ago, despite prior approval to move ahead with the Grimsby project.

The shortfalls of the building housing 8 District (formerly 14 Division) are well-documented.

In a report dating back eight years, the Grimsby facility was described as "one requiring urgent attention" and "this is the worst divisional station operationally". The building has no approved holding cells, no accessibility amenities, no backup power system. Attached to one wall in the interview room is a fire escape ladder that leads to the roof - not great for suicidal suspects as noted in the 2000 report. There are also serious security issues with the staff using the same entrance through which prisoners are escorted.

We need to get on with building a new station if we expect our police service to be able to do its job here in the west end.