The deadline for submission of Tar Wars® posters from Ohio schools is Monday, April 16. Posters should be sent to: Julie Mask, Ohio Academy of Family Physicians Foundation (OAFP/F), 4075 N. High St., Columbus, OH 43214-3233. The Ohio poster contest judging will take placeSaturday, April 21, and contest results will be announced by Friday, May 4. If you have questions, please contact Julie Mask or call 614.267.7867.  OAFP/F offers Ohio’s state poster contest winners a $1,000 scholarship to attend the annual Tar Wars® national poster contest and awards ceremony, sponsored by American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).

This year’s Tar Wars® national conference will be held Monday-Tuesday, July 16-17, at Hyatt Regency 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.

The Ohio Tar Wars® program is one of OAFP/F’s programs. This year, thousands of fourth- and fifth-graders across Ohio will hear the Tar Wars® tobacco-free message from family physicians, medical students, residents and other interested volunteers. This program supports kids’ efforts to remain smoke free and helps counter the tobacco industry’s powerful promotional strategies aimed at youth. In Ohio, 18,100 kids under age 18 become daily smokers every year. Annual health care costs in Ohio directly caused by smoking total $4.37 billion.

Founded in 1988, Tar Wars® is a national initiative of AAFP designed to gets kids thinking and talking about the short-term effects and image-based consequences of tobacco use, explains how the tobacco industry targets kids specifically in advertising and other media, and talks about the costs associated with using tobacco products. The follow-up poster contest is conducted at the school, state and national levels to reinforce the Tar Wars message.