    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [January 9, 1996]
    [Page 23]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Excerpts of Remarks on Nickelodeon's ``Clearing the Air: Kids Talk to
    the President About Smoking''
    January 9, 1996

        Linda Ellerbee. How can a kid ask a grownup to stop smoking?
        The President. Oh, I think directly. I think children should not be
    self-conscious about that. I can tell you, you know, Chelsea did some
    very blunt things to her grandmother. She said, ``You ever seen a
    picture of a lung where people have smoked for years, as against the
    picture of a lung where people haven't?'' I mean, very straightforward
    stuff.
        Ms. Ellerbee. Did it work?
        The President. It worked. It took a few years, but it worked
    finally. On my daughter's 8th birthday, her grandmother's present was
    that she quit smoking.
        Ms. Ellerbee. Mr. President, do you have any final thoughts for kids
    on this issue?
        The President. You young people cannot believe the potential
    influence you can have. You can ask adults the kind of hard questions
    you asked me. You can encourage every adult you care about and love to
    stop smoking. You can make it so that the cool thing to do is not to
    smoke instead of to smoke.
        And you know, none of us are going to live forever, but you have the
    choice to maximize, to increase the chances of your living a long and
    full life. This is a choice you can make. The smoking choice is a choice
    you can make. It's totally within your control.
        And I just want to encourage you. I'll do what I can, but I want to
    encourage you to do everything you can to get everybody you know to
    remain smoke free. I think that is--that's the answer. And you can do
    it. We can change this country if we do it together.

    Note: The President's remarks were recorded at 12:10 p.m. on December
    12, 1995, for broadcast at 8 p.m. on January 9. Linda Ellerbee hosted
    Nickelodeon cable television's ``Nick News'' program.