Student Receives National Award in Tar Wars Poster Contest

WASHINGTON - Ethan Randal Osborne, a fifth-grader from Sparta, N.C., was named the 2004 Tar Wars national poster contest winner at a ceremony in Alexandria, Va., on Thurs., July 22. As the national poster contest winner, Osborne receives a family trip to Disney World worth up to $3,000.

Tar Wars is a tobacco-free education program that discourages tobacco use among the country's youth. The program, which was established in 1988, is administered by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

In addition to Osborne, three runners-up, seven honorable mentions and the state winners were recognized at the awards ceremony.

Runners-up:
Second place: Kaitlyn Kline, Paden City, W.Va.
Third place: Margaret Dunwoody, Armuchee, Ga.
Fourth place: Hannah Wright, Brunswick, Maine

Honorable Mentions:
Fifth place: Karey Wolfe, Milton, Pa.
Sixth place: Patrick Edward "Teddy" Stanton, Des Moines, Iowa
Seventh place: Angela Cederberg, Omaha, Neb.
Eight place (tie): Blake Miller, Cockeysville, Md.
Eight place (tie): Natalie Williams, Ballwin, Mo.
Ninth place: Lillian Chen, Cedar Knolls, N.J.
Tenth place: Alexandra Belden, Queensbury, N.Y.

The winning posters were chosen from 45 entries, all winners of state Tar Wars poster contests. Posters were judged on their artistry, creativity, originality and their ability to communicate a clear and positive message about being tobacco-free.

Thousands of family physicians and health care professionals across the country present Tar Wars programs to fourth- and fifth-graders in their local schools every year. They discuss not only the long-term effects of smoking on the body, but also focus on the short-term, image-based effects of tobacco use.

Counteracting the messages created in tobacco advertising, health care professionals talk with youth about long-term issues such as lung cancer, and 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, month, a year and over a lifetime.

The follow-up Tar Wars poster contest encourages children to create posters that emphasize the positive aspects of not using tobacco.

Tar Wars was developed in 1988 by the Hall of Life at the Denver Museum of Natural History and Doctors Ought to Care. The AAFP has overseen the program since 1997. The program has been implemented in all 50 states, several territories and internationally, and it has reached more than 7 million children.

Digital images of the first-place, runner-up and honorable mention posters can be downloaded from http://www.tarwars.org. Poster artwork is also displayed in schools and is reproduced on promotional items available at http://www.tarwars.org.