Tar Wars
FDA Fighting for Authority to Regulate Electronic Cigarettes
New CME Training Focused on Smokers with Mental Illness
Treating Tobacco Dependence In Mental Health Settings (11MR02)Live training offered twice a year and focused on smokers with mental illness or addictions comorbidity. 13.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)(tm). http://ccoe.umdnj.edu/catalog/medical/11MR02_Mar13_Nov13_2010.htmTar Wars: Reaching Kids Before That First Cigarette
By Ron Blum, M.D.
12/2/2009
This year, the AAFP Congress of Delegates once again affirmed the importance of the Academy's Tar Wars tobacco-free education program and directed the AAFP to continue seeking outside funding to further the program's growth. The AAFP Congress of Delegates has grappled with this issue three times this decade, and each time, it definitively voted to support Tar Wars.
It's easy to explain why the program deserves the "yes" votes it has received, and why its continued growth would benefit communities and the family physicians who serve them.
As family physicians, we know how hard it is for tobacco users to quit -- and how often they die from tobacco-related conditions. I'm sure you'll agree that the best approach with tobacco is to avoid using the substance in the first place. To be effective, however, we have to reach potential users early in life. More than 14 percent of students who responded to the 2007 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey reported they smoked a whole cigarette for the first time before age 13.
Kids need to hear from you before someone offers them that first cigarette, because once they become tobacco users, they find it just as hard to quit as do adults. An analysis of data from the 2007 survey found that more than 60 percent of students who had ever been daily smokers tried to quit, but only 12 percent were successful.
What's the best way to reach preteens with a tobacco-free message that sticks? That's where Tar Wars comes in. It gives you the materials you need to make a memorable, interactive presentation to fourth- and fifth-grade students in your local schools. Tar Wars is the only program of its type currently offered by a medical specialty society, and it is consistent with the CDC's guidelines for school health programs to prevent tobacco use.
As family physicians, we know how hard it is for tobacco users to quit -- and how often they die from tobacco-related conditions. I'm sure you'll agree that the best approach with tobacco is to avoid using the substance in the first place. To be effective, however, we have to reach potential users early in life. More than 14 percent of students who responded to the 2007 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey reported they smoked a whole cigarette for the first time before age 13.
Kids need to hear from you before someone offers them that first cigarette, because once they become tobacco users, they find it just as hard to quit as do adults. An analysis of data from the 2007 survey found that more than 60 percent of students who had ever been daily smokers tried to quit, but only 12 percent were successful.
What's the best way to reach preteens with a tobacco-free message that sticks? That's where Tar Wars comes in. It gives you the materials you need to make a memorable, interactive presentation to fourth- and fifth-grade students in your local schools. Tar Wars is the only program of its type currently offered by a medical specialty society, and it is consistent with the CDC's guidelines for school health programs to prevent tobacco use.
The Tar Wars Program …
- currently reaches about 400,000 students each year with its tobacco-free message.
- has touched the lives of more than 8 million children worldwide since 1988, the year of its inception.
- has been active in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Uniformed Services and Canada.
- has had an international presence, with Tar Wars presentations made in a number of countries, including Australia, Germany, India, Japan and Nigeria.
- has presentation materials available in Spanish, as well as English.
- is on Facebook.
Even more important, making a Tar Wars presentation is easy and satisfying for you, effective for kids and fun for everyone. It helps students learn about the short-term, image-based effects of tobacco use and encourages critical thinking about tobacco advertising. In addition, making the presentation enhances your practice's reputation as a supporter of kids, the school and the community.
I know because I've made the presentation several times myself, sometimes in front of my own kids' classes, sometimes accompanied by a medical student preceptee. I had a blast each time. Before each presentation, I spent about half an hour reviewing the Tar Wars materials and then walked into the school well prepared to be an expert for those students. For months afterward, kids and their parents would mention the presentation when I met them in the community.
Quantitative and qualitative research confirms that Tar Wars presentations can be an effective part of a school's comprehensive tobacco prevention education plan. A recent study found that youngsters had a significant improvement in correct responses on the post-test after a Tar Wars presentation, compared with their answers on the pre-test. Focus groups and telephone interviews show that students, presenters and teachers agreed they liked the Tar Wars presentations and that new learning occurred.
The Tar Wars impact doesn't end after your presentation, either. Afterward, kids are encouraged to create tobacco-free posters and enter them in the Tar Wars poster contest at their school, which can lead to the state and national poster contests and attendance at the annual Tar Wars National Conference in Washington, D.C. I attended the conference for the past two years, and it was truly amazing.
The bottom line is that Tar Wars is primary prevention at its best. As chair of the Tar Wars Program Advisors panel, I appreciate your support of Tar Wars and encourage you to learn more about it, and then to do two things:
I know because I've made the presentation several times myself, sometimes in front of my own kids' classes, sometimes accompanied by a medical student preceptee. I had a blast each time. Before each presentation, I spent about half an hour reviewing the Tar Wars materials and then walked into the school well prepared to be an expert for those students. For months afterward, kids and their parents would mention the presentation when I met them in the community.
Quantitative and qualitative research confirms that Tar Wars presentations can be an effective part of a school's comprehensive tobacco prevention education plan. A recent study found that youngsters had a significant improvement in correct responses on the post-test after a Tar Wars presentation, compared with their answers on the pre-test. Focus groups and telephone interviews show that students, presenters and teachers agreed they liked the Tar Wars presentations and that new learning occurred.
The Tar Wars impact doesn't end after your presentation, either. Afterward, kids are encouraged to create tobacco-free posters and enter them in the Tar Wars poster contest at their school, which can lead to the state and national poster contests and attendance at the annual Tar Wars National Conference in Washington, D.C. I attended the conference for the past two years, and it was truly amazing.
The bottom line is that Tar Wars is primary prevention at its best. As chair of the Tar Wars Program Advisors panel, I appreciate your support of Tar Wars and encourage you to learn more about it, and then to do two things:
- Get involved. Make a Tar Wars presentation at a local grade school. Most AAFP constituent chapters have Tar Wars coordinators you can contact to get started, and the online program guide, which is updated for 2010, makes presenting easier than ever before. Tar Wars also is looking for poster contest judges. A recent member survey shows that about 30 percent of members have participated in Tar Wars, most often as presenters. Just think of how many kids could be reached if every member participated.
- Support Tar Wars financially. Currently, the AAFP Foundation and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids provide the national Tar Wars program with some financial support, but it's not nearly enough, and the program's budget is cut to the bone.
The AAFP Foundation is working to secure the ideal long-term funding solution: a large gift to create an endowment that would support Tar Wars and the AAFP's other tobacco-related programs. Until that occurs, however, member donations are crucial -- and Tar Wars needs more donations than it's been getting. While members often voice strong support for Tar Wars, in a recent AAFP member survey, less than 3 percent of respondents reported donating to the national Tar Wars program. Please put your money where your heart is, and help us raise that percentage!
As a special thank-you, members who donate at least $50 to support the national Tar Wars program will receive an attractive lapel pin that says, "I Support Tar Wars."
It's also important to support Tar Wars at the chapter level, but in the member survey, only 15 percent of respondents reported donating to their chapter's Tar Wars effort. Talk to your state coordinator about making a donation.
Ron Blum, M.D., is chair of the Tar Wars Program Advisors panel and a member of the AAFP Commission on Health of the Public and Science
As a special thank-you, members who donate at least $50 to support the national Tar Wars program will receive an attractive lapel pin that says, "I Support Tar Wars."
It's also important to support Tar Wars at the chapter level, but in the member survey, only 15 percent of respondents reported donating to their chapter's Tar Wars effort. Talk to your state coordinator about making a donation.
Ron Blum, M.D., is chair of the Tar Wars Program Advisors panel and a member of the AAFP Commission on Health of the Public and Science
Patient Centered Medical Home Provides Opportunity to Better Address Tobacco Dependence
Family medicine practices are beginning to transform themselves from condition- and treatment-centered practices to patient-centered medical homes. This new model of care is based on a continuous relationship between the patient, the physician, and a patient care team, in which the team takes collective responsibility for the patient's ongoing care.
A team-based model of care provides new opportunities to address tobacco dependence. "In the current healthcare climate, where reimbursement schedules favor short office visits, the doctor can't do it all," says Donald Pine, M.D. a family physician and a member of the American Academy of Family Physician's (AAFP) tobacco cessation advisory committee. "Administrative staff, medical assistants and nurses can all fulfill roles in tobacco dependence treatment."
The AAFP encourages its members and their practice teams to Ask all patients about tobacco use, then to Act to help them quit. This easy-to-remember approach, Ask and Act, provides the opportunity for every member of a practice team to intervene at every visit. Interventions can be tailored to a specific patient based on his or her willingness to quit, as well as to the structure of the practice and each team member's knowledge and skill level.
"Family physicians are catching on that Ask and Act is a recognized standard of care," says family physician Saria Carter Saccocio, MD. "With education and training of physicians, we are seeing the impact."
The 2008 update of the USPHS guidelines recognizes Ask and Act as a format to deliver brief tobacco cessation interventions.
Through the Ask and Act program, supported by the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center, dozens of resources for family physicians and their practice teams have been developed and distributed, including more than 500,000 quitline referral cards.
In 2008, the AAFP added a mental health component to its resources and training programs to ensure that family physicians are aware of evidence-based treatment for this population. The majority of patients with mental health issues initially seek care from their primary care physician, and the AAFP and its members recognize the importance of helping these patients quit smoking.
For more information on Ask and Act, go to www.askandact.org
Program Overview
Smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke causes nearly 440,000 deaths in the United States each year, making tobacco use the leading preventable cause of death. Each day, more than 3,500 children in the United States try their first cigarette; another 1,000 become new regular, daily smokers. About a third of all youth smokers will eventually die prematurely from smoking-related disease.
In addition to the well-known, long-term health effects, children who smoke may immediately experience increased heartbeat and blood pressure, respiratory problems, reduced immune function, increased illness, tooth decay, gum disease, and precancerous gene mutations. The tobacco industry also spends more than $13.1 billion each year to promote use of their products. Much of that marketing directly reaches and influences kids.
Tar Wars was founded in response to this growing, yet preventable, health crisis. Administered by the American Academy o f Family Physicians, Tar Wars is an award-winning, tobacco-free education program targeting fourth- and fifth-grade students.
Tar Wars uses an effective and innovative approach to teaching tobacco prevention, focusing on the short-term, image-based consequences of tobacco use and how to think critically about tobacco advertising.
The Tar Wars lesson is presented by health care professionals and educators. Tar Wars also provides health care professionals, school personnel, and community members the opportunity to form coalitions that share the common goal of discouraging tobacco use among children. A poster contest at the school, state, and national levels is conducted to reinforce the Tar Wars message.
Help Tar Wars in the fight against tobacco use!
For Presenters
Are you interested in becoming a Tar Wars presenter? Here's where you can find out how!
Benefits of Being A Tar Wars Presenter
You can make a difference in the health of your community by educating as many children as possible about the harmful effects of tobacco use and generating awareness of the deceiving nature of tobacco advertising. You can be a role model in your community and help to encourage children to celebrate, promote, and enjoy tobacco-free lives.
Making a Difference in Your Community -- This slideshow, available in both PowerPoint and PDF formats, provides information about Tar Wars, why you should become a presenter, what's involved, and how to get started.
(20-page PowerPoint file; About Downloading)
(20-page PDF file; About PDFs)
(20-page PowerPoint file; About Downloading)
(20-page PDF file; About PDFs)
Preparing for Your Classroom Presentation -- This slideshow, available in both PowerPoint and PDF formats, can be used to help train and prepare you for your Tar Wars classroom presentation.
(40-page PowerPoint file; About Downloading)
(40-page PDF file; About PDFs)
(40-page PowerPoint file; About Downloading)
(40-page PDF file; About PDFs)
About Tar Wars
Tar Wars is a tobacco-free education program for fourth- and fifth-grade students. The program is designed to teach kids about the short-term, image-based consequences of tobacco use, the cost associated with using tobacco products, and the advertising techniques used by the tobacco industry to market their products to youth. A follow-up poster contest is conducted at the school, state, and national level to reinforce the Tar Wars message.
The program, which is owned and operated by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), is implemented in classrooms across the United States and abroad by committed volunteer presenters such as family physicians, residents, medical students, school nurses, other health care professionals, educators, and community members. Currently, 47 AAFP constituent chapters and/or foundations are directly supporting and coordinating the program.
Tar Wars is the only youth tobacco education program offered at this time by a medical specialty organization in the United States and reaches approximately 400,000 students annually. The program has been active in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Uniformed Services, and Canada.
Internationally, Tar Wars has been presented in Australia, Bangladesh, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Presentation materials in Spanish are also available.
Since its inception in 1988, Tar Wars has touched the lives of more than 8 million children worldwide!
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Presentation Materials
Lesson Plan At A Glance -- An overview of the Tar Wars Lesson Plan and classroom activities.
Sample Tobacco Ads -- Sample tobacco ads that can be used in conjunction with Activity 5: Tobacco and Advertising.
Information for Kids and Parents -- Includes information geared toward children and their parents.
Tobacco Education Experiments and Activities -- A series of visual, hands-on science-based activities that can be used to follow-up the Tar Wars presentation and reinforce the dangers of tobacco use.
(7-page PDF file; About PDFs)
(7-page PDF file; About PDFs)
What's in a cigarette? -- Provides information about the list of additives used in cigarettes.
Smoking and How to Quit: What's in a Cigarette? -- Find out what you ingest when you smoke, or when you are exposed to secondhand smoke. This matching quiz highlights some of the ingredients used in cigarettes.
The Dangers of Secondhand Smoke -- Here you can learn about the dangers of secondhand smoke, including statistics and health consequences.
(1-page PDF file; About PDFs)
(1-page PDF file; About PDFs)
Smokeless Tobacco -- Provides information about the consequences of smokeless tobacco and facts about the dangers of nicotine.
(1-page PDF file; About PDFs)
(1-page PDF file; About PDFs)
Visual/Graphic Displays -- Find out where to purchase graphic displays such as Mr. Gross Mouth and the Jar of Tar.
