Tar Wars

The curriculum guide has been redesigned to offer a wide variety of lessons on topics from cigarettes, to secondhand smoke, to emerging smokeless tobacco products. You can download the updated program guide here and learn about the Tar Wars Program at www.tarwars.org.  Find a link to the Parent Information Handout to send home with students after you present Tar Wars. If you are a current presenter, contact your schools and schedule a presentation!  If you would like start teaching Tar Wars at a local school and need help getting started, contact Ginnie Flynn by email or call 630-427-8004.

2020 Poster Contest Deadline is April 30.  Click here for instructions and the required forms to include with your schools' winning posters. 

2019 Poster Contest Results 

IDPH fact sheet on youths and e-cigarette use and IDPH resource center with updated information on e-cigarettes and vaping.
CDC fact sheet on e-cigarettes and youth (Oct. 2019)    

AAFP's FamilyDoctor.org patient education on vaping

Link to the AAFP Tar Wars Presenters' Page

2018 Poster Contest Results

Some great new resources! 

Article on Chicago's lower smoking rates

The truth - a federal court order forced tobacco companies to tell you the truth. 

Speaking of the truth, how about the fact that tobacco companies target communities of color?  Learn more in the Stop Profiling Us campaign

New CDC Infographic with the facts on e-cigarettes- and August 2018 graphic that includes JUULs and other similar products

Need the facts on e-cigarettes for your patient discussions?   Check out the fact sheet from four leading organizations, including AAFP.  New research from the AMA documents increased nicotine levels in teens who used e-cigarettes and the likelihood to progress to more vaping and cigarette smoking. Also, to discuss safety, a Jan 2018 study finds evidence of possible damage with e-cigarettes. 

Family medicine, pediatrics and other health organizations call on Hollywood to use R-rating for movies that include tobacco use.   Read the letter signed by AAFP and 16 other leading organizations. 

2017 Poster contest Results!

You can also download a new Healthy Interventions toolktit from AAFP covering a wide variety of tobacco and nicotine issues. 

Cessation webinar Tobacco cessation challenges and resources The AAFP and Smoking Cessation Leadership Center hosted a webinar Engaging Health Professionals and Strengthening Smoking Cessation Interventions: Success Stories from Family Physicians, Respiratory Therapists and Psychiatric Nurses You can listen to the recording or download the slides here.

New content:  Tobacco Control and the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) - If you missed the live webinar in April, the archived webinar and slides are available online   

NEW Report from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids - The Flavor Trap - Luring kids with flavored tobacco and e-cigarettes. 

-View the 2016 State Poster Contest results here

Congratulations to our 2015 Poster Contest Winner

Caleb is the second statewide poster contest winner to come from Rochester Intermediate.  In 2011, Madelyn Noyes took the top honor.   On May 21, Tar Wars poster contest winner Caleb Hamilton of Rochester Intermediate School (near Springfield) received his awards in a ceremony at school. His poster was turned into a large banner for the school.  Caleb received a $500 cash prize and the school received a $1,000 grant for their science program.  IAFP board member Tabatha Wells, MD of Springfield helped Tar Wars coordinator Ginnie Flynn deliver the good news and the prizes.  WICS-TV covered the event and aired a story on their evening news.

The Family Health Foundation of Illinois thanks Pfizer Charitable Contributions for their support of Tar Wars!

 Check out our 2014 Illinois state poster contest winner Click here for press release

Our 2014 Poster Winner, Jarrett Robertson of Moweaqua enjoyed an amazing trip to Washington, DC for the final Tar Wars National Poster Contest, including a visit to the Capitol with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.  Funding for Jarrett's trip was made possible from a donation from Pfizer Charitable Contributions to the Family Health Foundation of Illinois.