90% of Italian smokers started when they were teens, because in our country smoking is cool and is a way to be accepted by friends. The challenge was to prevent teens from starting smoking, by demonstrating to them what they are going to do to their bodies, in an effective and shocking way, because they don't pay attention to anyone's words or warnings.

Humanitas is an important hospital and a research facility that every year invests in smoking prevention.

They gave us data and medical research on smoking, and ask us to make teens aware of smoking risks, through an innovative and involving way.

We had 4,000 cigarettes smoked through a vacuum machine, that filtered the chemicals into water. The result was a black liquid that we used as ink to paint a unique exhibit. In order to get teens' attention, we re-elaborated medical charts with the most iconic images from art history and we used artistic metaphors to easily explain complex concepts to them. The exhibit has been designed to be a sensorial experience: thanks to its shape, we made teens feel like they were inside smokers' lungs, and thanks to the special ink, we made them smell the damage.

Over 50 schools and 3,000 students came to visit the exhibit in Humanitas as well as the 5,000 daily hospital visitors. We replicated the exhibit several times, for example during the Milan Design Week, with thousands of visitors. Every Italian TV channel and newspaper spoke about it. The exhibit, born only for teens, became an interesting experience for smokers of all ages.