Young people don't always think the same as adults, and proof came when youth voted on the most effective tobacco education commercial.

It was thought youth would pick a funny ad, rather than one that was most effective, Ian Parker, health and promotion co-ordinator for the Department of Health and Social Services, told a news conference Monday afternoon.

'But I was pleasantly surprised,' he said.

Out of 12 anti-smoking ads, youth found 'gross-out' commercials to be the most effective.

The No. 1 choice was an ad called 'What if (girl),' where teenage girls rapidly decayed in front of a mirror, demonstrating what smoking does to one's body. Youth thought it was effective because it played to people's vanity.

The second choice was called 'Doesn't Kill'. This ad depicted real people who had been physically deformed by smoking or chewing tobacco.

The funnier ads, which Parker thought would come out on top, actually ranked lower.

One humorous commercial called 'Junkyard Dog' involved a man allowing a dog to rip out his tongue, which had been covered in barbecue sauce. The scenario was supposed to be comparable to the effects chewing tobacco might have on someone's mouth.

Another commercial, called 'Drive', showed a woman wanting to get revenge on a friend who had exposed her to second-hand smoke.

She takes him on a reckless car ride to endanger his life in the same way he had endangered hers.

Although adults thought these humourous ads would be the young people's favourites, 'Drive' was only voted into third place.

The 4,500 youth, from Grades 6 through 12, who took part in the survey were from the three territories.

'It's interesting that the No. 1 commercial selected by the students was the same right across the North,' said Parker.

The project was based on a program called Critics Choice done in Vancouver.

The purpose of showing the ads in a classroom was to get youth talking about the effects of tobacco use. Judging from the feedback Parker had received from teachers, the project was successful at achieving its goal.

A fringe benefit of the project is that health officials can learn which ads are most efficient in delivering anti-tabacco messages to youth, he said.

'This goes to show how important it is to involve youth in planning education programs,' said Parker. 'Youth will tell us what works and what doesn't work for them. We just need to ask.'

The ads shown were from Canada, the U.S. and Australia.

Parker hopes to do a similar project next year.

The Yukon has one of the highest rates of youth smoking in Canada. A survey in 1994 found 44 per cent of Yukon youth between the ages of 15 to 19 smoked.

However, Parker said these numbers have decreased. His office is currently tallying the results of a new survey done this year.

Parker speculates the reason the Yukon might have the highest young smoker rates in the country is a lack of activities for youth in rural communities, as well as a lower social economic status.

The commercials were sent to all Yukon schools, with participation from 23 of 26 schools.

The three territories are expected to run the top finisher, 'What if (girl)', on northern television before the end of the year.