BODY WATCH : Strap on the Pads Before Skating

In-line skaters are rolling headlong into emergency rooms. In 1994, there were 75,900 injuries from skating. That figure was double from the year before, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

So, you 12 million in-line skaters, take note:

* Learn the basic skills, particularly how to stop, before venturing into traffic.

* Wear a helmet, wrist protectors and knee and elbow pads.

* Put on protective gear first, then your skates.

* Do warm-up exercises before and cool-down exercises after skating.

* Stay on the right side of the road, and don’t weave in and out of lanes.

* Avoid crowded walkways.

Hope for Those Who Want to Quit

A study on a promising smoking-cessation technique is beginning in Los Angeles.

Researchers are recruiting 220 healthy men and women older than 18 who smoke 15 or more cigarettes a day. They want to test a combination of the antidepressant Wellbutrin and the nicotine patch. Studies suggest that both antidepressants and the patch help smokers quit.

Study participants will receive nine weeks of treatment. All participants will receive counseling for 12 weeks with monthly follow-up calls through the first year.

The study is being conducted by Mitchell Nides, a counseling psychologist in Westwood. For more information, call (800) 215-7867.

Briefly . . .

Good Samaritan Hospital’s second annual children’s health fair takes place Friday. The free Kids Care Fair offers children’s immunizations, TB tests, fingerprinting for safety ID kits and entertainment. 1-5 p.m. Good Samaritan’s Conference Center, 637 S. Lucas Ave., Los Angeles. . . . A women’s lunch highlighting awareness of lesbian health issues with focus on breast-cancer prevention will be held Sunday. Guest speaker: Dr. Susan Love, director of Revlon/UCLA Breast Cancer. $50 a person. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wyndham Bel Age Hotel. 1020 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood. Call (213) 993-7535 . . . . Also on Sunday, the California Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League-South is holding its annual Mothers and Daughters for Choice luncheon at noon. Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, 9500 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. Call (213) 951-1160. . . . On Monday, the National Kidney Foundation, in conjunction with the Exchange Club of Culver City, is sponsoring the Cadillac Invitational Golf Tournament. Half of the proceeds will benefit people with kidney disease. $250 registration fee includes greens and cart fees, lunch and an awards dinner banquet. 9 a.m. tee-off at the Wilshire Country Club, 301 N. Rossmore Ave., Los Angeles. Call Dominique Mun~oz, (310) 641-8152 for information. . . . UCLA’s Rhonda Fleming Mann Resource Center for Women with Cancer is hosting a talk, “Keep Laughing to Keep Healthy,” by comedian and breast-cancer survivor Jane Hill. Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. Free. RPB Auditorium, 800 Westwood Plaza. (310) 794-6644.