Yellowknife (May 12/04) - Don't be a butthead. The slogan and a cartoon character are part of a $650,000 anti-smoking campaign rolled out last week by the NWT Department of Health and Social Services.

Those rotting teeth give Range Lake North student Kari Turcotte one more reason to keep her pledge to be smoke-free. She was one the first students to sign pledge forms vowing never to pick up that first cigarette. - Lisa Scott/NNSL photo

The "curmudgeonly little character" of Butthead will be the mascot that kids should love to hate, says Leanne Tait, whose company is managing the campaign.

The effort is part of a federal tobacco control program that targets youth across Canada aged eight to 14 and aims to turn them off smoking before they start.

Butthead, a six-foot inflatable dummy, will make an appearance at summer festivals, youth sporting events and summer camps and where youths might want a chance to "kick some butt."

Health minister Michael Miltenberger was on hand at Range Lake North school to launch the project that will be in all NWT schools by September. "It's been a big issue for a long time," Miltenberger said.

"It's a killer and it's driving us into the poorhouse."

He urged students to beat statistics that say 11 is the age when kids in the Northwest Territories smoke their first cigarette.

Andre Corriveau, chief medical health officer for the NWT, said "maybe we can actually come up with a smoke-free generation in the NWT."

The campaign offers students incentives to stay smoke-free, including sports and electronic goodies.

"We're getting a really good response from the kids. The message was really compelling for them," Tait said.