What is Tar Wars?
Tar Wars is the award-winning, youth tobacco-free education program and follow-up poster contest sponsered by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Although Tar Wars is designed for 4th and 5th graders, it is only offered to 4th graders in the Chippewa Valley because there are few, if any, tobacco-free education programs currently targeted at this grade level. The program utilizes effective and interactive classroom activities and the volunteer efforts of health care professionals and educators to encourage tobacco prevention. Tar Wars is currently available in all 50 states and other countries, and has reached 9 million children worldwide.
The proven lesson plan focuses on the short-term effects and image-based consequences of tobacco use and how to think critically about tobacco advertising. A follow-up poster contest reinforces the Tar Wars message by encouraging students to creatively capture what they learned about being tobacco-free. Winning posters from area schools are entered in the state contest, and the winning state poster is entered for competition in the National Poster Contest, held annually each summer.
Mission of Tar Wars: The mission of Tar Wars is to educate children about being tobacco-free, thereby providing them with the tools to make positive decisions regarding their health, and to promote personal responsibility for their well-being. By utilizing a community-based approach to mobilize family physicians, educators, and other health care professionals, Tar Wars can accomplish this mission.