Stamp Out Smoking received more than 1,600 entries from across the state of Arkansas for the 2009 “Tobacco Tackle” Essay Contest. Students in grades 2 – 9 were asked to write an essay about their healthy hero’s lifestyle choices and attitudes about being tobacco-free. An independent panel of judges scored the entries and selected three winners for each category.
Click here to see the winners!
The annual “The Big Pitch” drama contest, kicks off January 25, 2010. This competition is open to middle, junior and high school students in the state of Arkansas and gives students and their peers the opportunity to produce and act in a television commercial aimed at sharing tobacco-free and quitting tobacco messages. Contest winners will receive prizes including money to purchase media equipment or supplies for their school and the potential opportunity to participate in a professional television production.
This year’s SOS Coloring Contest will launch in February and be implemented through Arkansas elementary schools. Stamp Out Smoking has created fun and exciting coloring artwork featuring the “Tobacco Tackle” super heroes. Interested students can submit their entries by adding their creative touch to their colored artwork. Upon submission, students will be eligible to win some awesome prizes and possibly be featured in their local newspaper. The contest is for students grades K-5, and will begin on February 1st and end March 19, 2010. SOS will be sending all coloring contest materials to school principals. Please contact Christine Golden at christine.golden@cjrw.com if your elementary school has not received materials or to request materials.
Further details regarding the Drama Contest and Coloring Contest will be posted on stampoutsmoking.com closer to launch.
from left to right:
Doris Taylor, Forrest City; Chianti Austin, Pine Bluff; Regina Cole, Texarkana.
This fiscal year, TPCP has partnered with Arkansas Department of Human Services’ Division of Behavioral Health Services’ Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention (OADAP), the Department of Community Corrections (DCC), and University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), to provide intensive tobacco treatment training to close to 80 substance abuse counselors.
Click here to read the full story.
On October 1, 2009 the Arkansas Tobacco Quitline celebrated its one-year anniversary of helping callers quit tobacco under operation by a new vendor, Free & Clear, Inc. In only one year, more than 30,000 tobacco users have called the Quitline, which offers one-on-one counseling with a QuitCoach® by phone to help them take responsibility for and overcome their tobacco habit.
Click here to read the full story.
Tobacco Prevention Coordinator Hunter Caraway, in accordance with the city of Melbourne, saw an opportunity to extend the smoke-free message within Izard County. As of November 24, 2009, a ban was established on smoking within 20 feet of all city-owned playground equipment. Learn more about how Hunter’s initiative helped provide a healthier environment for children and families.
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In a report released in early December, Arkansas ranks 9th in the nation for funding programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. Currently, Arkansas is only funded at half of what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends when orchestrating tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Arkansas’s commitment to remain one of the top 10 states will require more support from statewide leaders to increase funding that will reduce smoking to help save lives, save money, and, ultimately, reduce tobacco-related health care costs.
Click here to read the full press release.