Many international health organizations estimate that nearly 70% of Armenian adults smoke, placing Armenia annually among the top five in national percentage of smokers in the world and the highest percentage in Europe. This correlates strongly with Armenia's poverty rate, as many individuals use tobacco to cope with stress and relieve boredom.

This practice leaves Armenian adults increasingly at risk for diseases associated with tobacco consumption, including lung cancer, as well as cardiovascular and pulmonary disease.

Children, meanwhile, are increasingly vulnerable to sudden infant death syndrome, ear infections, and allergies. Over 90% of children aged 13 to 15 years old live in homes where they are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke, according to the World Health Organization.

At Ayo!, we'd like to change the way people think about smoking and the effects of second-hand smoke. We will launch a campaign that invites 20-30 of the top free-style artists in Armenia to paint anti-smoking murals all over Yerevan. Yerevanites will see many of these murals everyday, whether on their way to work or on a date to the opera.

Each mural will also have a QR code, so that people can learn more about the project and Ayo!'s incredible work. We will challenge Yerevan's habits and customs, and challenge her to consider her future and the health of her children. In short, we will shake the city.

We will also provide monetary prizes to the top three artists, creating a contest judging murals on metrics like creativity and communicative elements selected by special jury.