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By SELICIA KENNEDY-ROSS
Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun

Magician James Warren has a few tricks up his sleeve to keep kids from smoking. His sleight-of-hand tricks amazed his young audience at Newmark Elementary School in San Bernardino, where he performed for students in the after-school program Friday.

Warren, 50, is a professional magician who tours schools in Southern California using props, smoke and mirrors to teach children about the dangers of smoking.

His message: Don't smoke.

"When people start smoking they always say they are only going to smoke one cigarette," Warren told the children while he held a prop cigarette between his finger. "Only one."

"But before they know it," he said as he appeared to pull more and more cigarettes out of thin air, "they are smoking one, two, three, four."

The children gasped with appreciation.

Such visual tricks are effective ways to teach children that smoking is not smart, the Culver City resident said.

Warren, who has been practicing magic since he was in grade school himself, has been performing professionally for the last 10 years. He has performed at the Magic Castle in Hollywood and for celebrities such as Warren Beatty and Michelle Pfeiffer. Warren has been performing at schools for the past eight years. He said he performs with an anti-smoking message because it makes him feel like he is doing more than entertaining.

"It's somewhat helpful to send a visual message about something you want them to turn away from -- like smoking," he said. "Right now they are still at an impressionable age."

Fourth graders Hanna Salem and Daisy Tobon both said they didn't want to smoke after seeing Warren's show.

"It's cool," said Hanna, 9, "I've never seen magic like that before."

Third grader Rico Ferrell called the show "a good thing."

"There aren't going to be a lot of kids smoking now,"said Rico, 9.

Brother and sister Keenan and Stephanie Letteer also attended the show.

"I liked the way the cigarettes kept coming out of his hand," said Stephanie, 8, about the show. "I'm not going to smoke because it makes your heart disgusting and sick."

Her brother, a foruth-grader, agreed. "I'm never going to smoke," said Keenan, 10. "I think the show will make less kids smoke. They should higher ;the prices of cigarettes and make it so you have to order them from a catalog and not sell them at the store."

"I think it was great because he told us teh truth about smoking," said fourth-grader Nicholas Lemke, 10. "I'll say no if someone wants me to smoke. I don't ever want to do it."