December Update for Tar Wars Schools and Presenters  

It’s hard to believe that 2007 is winding to a close.  Just a few items of information and some reminders before you take a much needed holiday break and count down to 2008!  

  1. From January to late March, you can keep up with Tar Wars via the www.tarwars.org web site or contact the National Tar Wars office with questions at 1-800-TAR-WARS.
  2. Progress in reducing high school smoking rates nationwide has stalled!  It is encouraging that the survey found that smoking declined among 8th graders from 2006 to 2007, the first statistically significant decline in that age group in four years.  However, it is troubling and bad news for the nation’s health that, for the fourth year in a row, the survey found no statistically significant change in smoking rates for 10th and 12th graders.  Read the full story at http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/07data.html#2007data-cigs 
  3. Happy New Year – Illinois workplaces become 100% smoke-free beginning January 1, 2008 .  No child will ever work in a smoke-filled job, and we’ll all breathe better when we can go out to eat, bowling and enjoy other public events without the dangers of secondhand smoke.
  4. Illinois continues to fail in funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs.  We’re now ranked 39th of the states in funding tobacco programs – spending a paltry 13 percent of the minimum amount recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control.  Link to a printable report on Illinois from Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids annual Tobacco State Settlement Report at http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements/state.php?StateID=IL.     Please note: IAFP Foundation’s Tar Wars program does not receive any direct funding from the state.  Some county health departments do use their state funding to run Tar Wars programs in their county schools, and we are very grateful for their efforts in teaming up with family medicine to tackle tobacco prevention in Illinois 4th and 5th grade classrooms.

STATE POSTER CONTEST DEADLINE IS MARCH 31!!

Individual schools may submit one poster by MARCH 31, 2008 .  If your school is part of a larger group effort, coordinated by a health department, medical school or other organization that conducts a local poster contest, you should submit posters according to your presenter’s request.  If you are a presenter hosting a regional poster contest with multiple schools, make sure to mail your top 3 posters (as long as no school has more than one poster in the state contest) to IAFP Foundation Tar Wars before the March 31, deadline.  Poster contest rules are on the IAFP web site at http://www.iafp.com/tarwars/postercontestrules.htm and also on page 18 of the Tar Wars Program Guide.  

 Please mail posters to me at

TAR WARS
C/O IAFP Foundation
 4756 Main Street
 Lisle , IL 60532  

REMINDERS FOR PRESENTERS:   

Contact your schools.

Please get in touch with the contact person at your school(s) as soon as possible and set up a date.  Please get the newly revised Tar Wars "Program Guide for Teachers and Presenters" It's a 24-page PDF file, under “presentation materials in English” or direct link a  http://www.tarwars.org/cgi-bin/download_tracking.pl     - You will need to fill out the form and select “Illinois” from the drop down menu to help the national program track state use/participation.  Read through the program guide to prepare for your presentations.    

Don’t forget about the Illinois Quitline at 1-866-QUIT-YES.  

Encourage your school to do a poster contest and offer to be a judge.  Remind your school that to send the winning poster from your school directly to Illinois Tar Wars, C/O Illinois Academy of Family Physicians 4756 Main St. Lisle, IL 60532.  Posters will be due in IAFP ’s offices by March 31, 2008 .  

REMINDERS FOR SCHOOLS  

If you have not heard from your assigned presenter, please try to contact him or her.  If you are not successful in contacting your presenter, contact Ginnie Flynn for assistance at 630-435-0356 x118 or gflynn@iafp.com before Christmas break.  

You’ll need to have students complete the Pre-Activity Worksheet before the presentation and also need to make copies of the Tobacco Advertising Worksheet  

An additional Parent Information Handout is available at http://www.tarwars.org/PreBuilt/tarwars_parentinfo.pdf You can print this out and send it home with students after the Tar Wars presentation to encourage them to talk about tobacco issues with their families.  

If you or someone on our staff is presenting the program, everything you need is in the 2007 curriculum guide at http://www.tarwars.org/cgi-bin/download_tracking.pl   - You will need to fill out the form and select “ Illinois ” from the drop down menu to help the national program track state use/participation.  Read through the program guide to prepare for your presentations.  

We hope your school will hold a poster contest and send that winning poster from your school.  Posters will be due in IAFP ’s offices by March 31, 2008 .   

In the meantime, please feel free to call me with any questions at 630-435-0356 x118 or e-mail me at gflynn@iafp.com until Christmas.

Have a happy holiday season, celebrate the New Year and be healthy!

 

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