While the rate of smokers remains at a relatively stable 20 per cent in Quebec, the number of teen smokers continues to drop dramatically.

It's a trend that a group of young people are working toward reducing even further. The Youth Coalition against Smoking has an ambitious goal: It wants to see the first tobacco-free generation within ten years.

It comes at a time when the Quebec government is set to introduce new legislation this spring that would further restrict tobacco use in Quebec, possibly limiting the sale of certain tobacco products. 

A tobacco-free generation is a lofty goal, considering that young people are the new blood tobacco manufacturers need to survive, but some groups are ready to take on the challenge, in part because there’s been a shift in mentality.

“Now we only have 12 per cent of teenagers who are smoking in Quebec, and it was 22 per cent five years ago, so we made tremendous efforts to reduce smoking – and it works,” said Mario Bujold of the Quebec Council on Tobacco and Health.

The English Montreal School Board brought 40 teens together Wednesday from ten local high schools to learn about tobacco company strategies.

The students were encouraged to discuss their ideas about how to reduce teen smoking, showing how they're increasingly aware of marketing techniques.

“Stop thinking about money, think of the lives lost,” said Mysha King of Rosemount High School.

“Cigarettes have a good way of advertising and catching someone's eyes and that's why they start smoking,” said Steven Serra of Laurier-McDonald High School. “They really do things that are flashy so they know they don't realize what it is, so you know they start smoking because of the advertising.”

“To me, as a teenager, I find it very, very easy to find cigarettes and tobacco products,” added Britney Slimovitch, or Royal West Academy.

“I learned that we are the main goal of the smoking industry. You know all their tactics, all they do revolves around us, so if we can stop buying their product, maybe it can put them out of business,” said Nicolas Maniatis of Lauren Hill Academy.

The consensus the group is trying to build is that smoking is no longer cool.

“You basically spend all your money on your cigarettes so you're left with nothing,” said high school student Kelly Nguyen.