[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.