The TarWars® Posters are in! Posters will be on display May 4 - 9, 2008, at the Louisiana State Museum located at 660 North 4th Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The statewide poster contest and reception, which is scheduled for Friday, May 9th, from 12:00 to 1:00 pm, will also be held at the Louisiana State Museum location. First, second, and third place prizes will be awarded. Winners will be announced on Monday, May 12th. In honor of the 20th Anniversary of TarWars®, the LAFP would like to invite all members to attend the statewide poster contest and reception.  If you wish to attend, please RSVP by Friday, May 2nd, by contacting Jade Verret at 225-923-3313 or jverret@lafp.org.

The LAFP Foundation offers Louisiana state poster contest winners a scholarship to attend the annual TarWars® national poster contest and awards ceremony, sponsored by the AAFP. This year’s TarWars® national conference will be held Monday-Tuesday, July 21-22, at the Holiday Inn Capitol in Washington, D.C. While in Washington, state winners have the opportunity to visit Capitol sights as well as schedule Capitol Hill visits to take the TarWars® tobacco-free message to their congressional leaders.

This year the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) celebrates the 20th anniversary of TarWars®. This national initiative of AAFP is 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 its products to youth. The follow-up poster contest is conducted at the school, state and national levels to reinforce the TarWars® message.