Louisiana State Tar Wars Poster Contest – Friday, May 15th!

The LAFP Foundation is gearing up for its 2009 Tar Wars Poster Contest! This year's deadline to submit winning posters to the LAFP is Friday, May 1st. The statewide poster contest and reception is scheduled for Friday, May 15th from 12:00 to 1:00 pm and will be held at LAFP Headquarters. First, second, and third place prizes will be awarded. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 22nd.

The Louisiana Tar Wars® program is a part of the Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians Foundation. This year, thousands of fourth- and fifth-graders across Louisiana will hear the Tar Wars® tobacco-free message from family physicians, medical students, residents and other interested volunteers. These programs support kids’ efforts to remain smoke free and help counter the tobacco industry’s powerful promotional strategies aimed at youth. Research indicates that kids are more likely to be influenced to smoke by cigarette ads than by peer pressure, and one-third of kids’ cigarette smoking experimentation is attributable to Tobacco Company advertising.

Founded in 1988, Tar Wars® is a national initiative of American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) designed to teach kids about the short-term, image-based consequences of tobacco use, the costs associated with using tobacco products and the advertising techniques used by the tobacco industry to market their products to youth. The follow-up poster contest is conducted at the school, state and national levels to reinforce the Tar Wars® message.

The LAFP Foundation offers Louisiana’s first place winner a $1000 scholarship to attend the annual Tar Wars® national poster contest and awards ceremony, sponsored by the American Academy of Family Physicians. This year’s Tar Wars® national conference will be held Monday-Tuesday, July 13-14, at the Hyatt Washington on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. While in Washington, D.C., state winners have the opportunity to visit Capitol sights as well as schedule Capitol Hill visits to take the Tar Wars® tobacco-free message to their congressional leaders.

Miss Emilee Leger, a fifth-grade student from Ernest Gallet Elementary School in Youngsville, Louisiana, was awarded first place in Louisiana’s 2008 poster contest and was awarded 9th place honorable mention recognition during the national poster contest and awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., July 21, 2008.

Your support for Tar Wars® at the state and/or national level is needed.
To support the efforts of the Louisiana Tar Wars® program, please visit the Give Online page of the LAFP Foundation webpage and check the Tar Wars® box. Donations can also be made by e-mail; telephone 225.923.3313; or mailing your contribution to Jade Verret, 919 Tara Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA, 70806.

To support the AAFP Tar Wars® program efforts visit the Tar Wars® Web site
All posters should be mailed to:

Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians
919 Tara Boulevard
Baton Rouge, LA 70806