Lucretia D. is married with two children. While one is grown, her youngest, Erick, is just seven. Erick has reached the stage of being inquisitive about smoking, and has started asking questions about it. Lucretia is a former smoker, but quit before Erick was born. While he hasn’t specifically asked about his mom’s history with smoking, she plans to be honest with him and share how hard, but important, it was for her to stop.

“I started smoking when I was young because I thought it was the cool thing to do. But then I felt strongly enough about it that I gave it up. I intend to teach Erick how to say “no” in his environment, with things like ‘You gotta be kidding! You want me to smell like an ashtray?’ I’m really trying to teach him not just to do what other people think, but to do the right thing.”

Having worked in a laboratory, Lucretia was able to show Erick what healthy lungs looked like, but also those of a smoker, knowing the visual difference would be extremely powerful. She talks to Erick about how cigarettes and other tobacco products are not good for him, and how she wants him to grow up healthy and strong.