Oak Harbor residents are getting accustomed to antiwar and prowar demonstrators, but there was a different kind of protest this week.

A group of the 19-year-old Brett Hickman’s friends took him up on a bet to get him to stop smoking Wednesday afternoon. Steve Hutchinson explained that Hickman, who’s been smoking for at least five years, told a group of friend that he would give up the habit if they protested on Highway 20 for at least an hour.

So they did it. The group of somewhat zany young people waved banners alongside a couple of antiwar protesters at the corner of the Highway and Barrington Drive. But instead of anti-war signs or flags, they held up home-made posters protesting Hickman’s cigarette habit.

During the hour, the friends say they counted 115 car horns honked at them.

The Marlboro protest broke up at about the same time a police officer responded to the corner. Jeremy Steinsiek, an antiwar protester, said a fellow protester and another man got into a fight over a problem completely unrelated to the war or foreign policy. Steinsiek said he shocked one of the men, who were rolling in the ground together, with a half-charged taser to get them to knock it off.

A police officer responded to a 911 call and briefly handcuffed Steinsiek while questioning witnesses. Steinsiek, who had allegedly been assaulted by a pro-troops man the day before, wasn’t cited and returned to his corner.

But the scene was dramatic enough to scare the group of friends away. “It’s kind of dangerous over there,” Jessica Hunt said.

The friends walked over to the Dairy Queen, where Hickman was working, to inform him that he’s smoked his last cigarette.

You can reach News-Times reporter Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or call 675-6611.