State Poster Contest

Cottonport Student Wins  2012 Louisiana Tar Wars Poster Competition

BATON ROUGE, LA.—April 25, 2012— Austin Jude Gremillion a 4th grader from Avoyelles Public Charter School was named the 2012 Louisiana State-level Tar Wars Poster Contest winner on the steps of State Capitol today at a ceremony that focused on the positive health effects of kids not smoking.

The winning posters were chosen from 50 top entries from around the state. In addition to Austin Jude Gremillion, 2nd place was awarded to Madison Kelly, a 5th-grader from Hessmer, LA., 3rd place was awarded to Saanjeeveni Senthil-Nathan, a 5th-grader from Baton Rouge, LA., and honorable mention went to Mercedes Walker, a 5th grader from Baton Rouge, LA.

Tar Wars is a tobacco-free education program administered by the American Academy of Family Physicians that increases fourth- and fifth-grade students' awareness of attitudes about tobacco use and the effects of tobacco on the body. Since it was established in 1988, Tar Wars has reached more than eight million children with its tobacco-free message.

"Tar Wars is a youth tobacco prevention education program for fourth and fifth grade students that mobilize family physicians, educators, and other health care professionals to educate and motivate students to be tobacco free" said Dr. Wayne Gravois, State Tar Wars Coordinator. Dr. Gravois continued, "with the majority of the estimated 3,500 new smokers a day in the United States being teenagers, Tar Wars is designed to target children before they start smoking. Studies show that 90 % of smokers start by the age of 19 with nearly one half million deaths a year attributed to smoking related illnesses, preventing people from starting to smoke will save many lives."

Almost 90 percent of adult smokers start smoking at or before age 19. In Louisiana, 6,700 children under the age of 18 become new daily smokers each year. More than 50,000, or about 19 percent, of Louisiana high school students smoke and almost 12 million packs of cigarettes are bought or smoked by kids in Louisiana annually.

In addition to the well-known, long-term health effects, children who smoke may immediately experience increased heartbeat and blood pressure, respiratory problems, reduced immune function, increased illness, tooth decay, gum disease, and precancerous gene mutations. The tobacco industry spends more than $13.1 billion each year to promote use of their products. Much of that marketing directly reaches and influences kids.

"The LAFP is proud to recognize these young people and their Tar Wars Posters at a time when more young adults and teenagers are smoking than ever before. We hope that the efforts of these students will have an impact on their generation and result in our children never starting to smoke," said Alan, LeBato, MD, LAFP Foundation President of Lake Charles, LA.

At the end of each school year, the LAFP Foundation Tar Wars Program culminates with its annual poster contest, which encourages children to create posters that emphasize the positive aspects of not using tobacco. Posters are judged on their artistry, creativity, originality and their ability to communicate a clear and positive message about being tobacco-free.

State-level winners will compete for the national title at the Tar Wars National Conference in Washington, D.C. The conference, which is sponsored by the American Academy of Family Physicians, is held each summer and celebrates youth, creativity, and being tobacco-free.

In addition to recognizing poster contest winners, the Tar Wars National Conference allows students to voice their opinions about tobacco use and tobacco legislation to their congressional leaders during visits to Capitol Hill.

Tar Wars is the only youth tobacco education program offered at this time by a medical specialty organization in the United States. It reaches approximately 400,000 students annually. Family physicians and other health care professionals present Tar Wars programs in their local schools, during which they talk with youth about how tobacco makes one's breath smell and how smoking can impair one's ability to be active and play sports. The students also learn about practical issues, such as how much it costs to use tobacco for a week, a month, a year and over a lifetime.

Tar Wars has been presented in all 50 states as well as in Australia, Bangladesh, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

About the Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians
Established in 1947, the Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians (LAFP) is one of the state's largest primary care organizations, with more than 1,500 member physicians, residents and medical students throughout the State of Louisiana. The mission of the LAFP is to promote and support Louisiana's family physicians in providing excellent health care and to provide a unified voice for family medicine. For more information, visit the LAFP website at www.lafp.org.

About the Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians Foundation
The Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, supports educational and scientific initiatives of Family Medicine to improve the health of all Louisianans. The purpose of LAFP Foundation is to strengthen and enhance family and community medicine. The Foundation supports activities which encourage medical students to pursue Family Medicine as their intended specialty and supports research activities in Family Medicine which ultimately may result improved patient care and enhance communication between family physicians and the community.