Allison and her husband Kevin have three children. Because of smokers in their extended family, the children all learned about smoking at a very young age. When visiting family members that smoked, the children, particularly Katy, now age 12, would have lots of questions.

“We discussed the different effects of smoking on health, why people went outside to smoke, and how bad the smell was for everyone. The children were very curious about why someone would continue a habit that could be so harmful. That opened up a lot of dialogue between us and our children.”

Because Allison and her husband spoke with their children about the risks of smoking, and about the importance of not giving in to peer pressures, the kids have all maintained healthy lifestyles. Allison has found that having her kids involved in different types of athletics also helps, since smoking is detrimental to these activities.