Anti-smoking artwork by three Illinois students was featured in 1999 on 785 former tobacco billboards throughout the state. The designs were chosen from entries to a billboard design contest, sponsored by Attorney General Jim Ryan in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Outdoor Advertising Association of Illinois.

The winning designs were drawn by --

• Nicholas Cooper, 12, “Dare to be Different,” 6th grade, St. Paul Lutheran School, Bradley;
• Jewelee King, 10, “Smoke Yuck,” 4th grade, New Holland - Middleton Elementary School, Middleton; and
• Whitney Kampwerth, 10, “Don’t Smoke for All the Little Reasons,” 4th grade, Caryle Elementary School, Caryle.

The billboards were installed in August 1999 and replaced anti-smoking messages that had been in place since April 1999. The billboards were provided at no cost to the state as part of the tobacco settlement negotiated by Ryan and other state attorneys general. Under the agreement, major tobacco manufacturers agreed to remove all tobacco billboard and transit advertising by April 22, 1999. Until the leases expired, most of them in January 2000, the state used the billboards for tobacco prevention and pro-health messages.

The design contest, which was held in the spring of 1998, called for entries from 4th, 5th and 6th graders in more than 1,000 schools across the state. In addition to the billboards, 15 other entries were chosen for inclusion in an anti-tobacco year 2000 calendar that was distributed through schools.

“It makes sense for students to design messages aimed at their peers,” Attorney General Ryan said. “I’m very impressed with the quality of the entries and am pleased that we are able to highlight the talents of some our state’s young people.”

Dr. John R. Lumpkin, state public health director, said reaching Illinois youth about the detrimental health effects of tobacco is critical since more than one-third of the students in grades 9 through 12 report smoking cigarettes.

“The tobacco settlement engineered by Attorney General Ryan allowed for the removal of tobacco billboards that have for decades glamorized and encouraged smoking. This represents an important step in preventing and reducing tobacco use,” Dr. Lumpkin said. “The next step is for public health officials and others to initiate comprehensive statewide tobacco control programs to reduce the disasterous health effects attributed to tobacco use.”

The calendar winners are --

• Jessica Duplessis, “Longer You Smoke, Shorter You Live!” 6th grade, Palatine
• Cari Erlinger, “Don’t Get Hooked,” 4th grade, Carlyle
• Adam Gierhart, “Smoke. Choke. Croak. Understand!!!” 4th grade, Rock Falls
• Ross Gonzalez, “When You Smoke, Here’s What Will Happen!” 5th grade, Carlyle
• Audrey Hugo, “Dragging on a Cigarette is Deadly,” 5th grade, Carlyle
• Tanner Kowalski, “Cigarettes Throw Your Life Away,” 4th grade, Hebron
• Katie Kruckenberg, “It’s No Joke. Don’t Smoke!” 6th grade, Lincoln
• Nathan Menard, “Keep Your Health Number 1,” 5th grade, Kankakee
• Ben Mohr, “Don’t Smoke, Don’t Chew Tobacco, Live Well,” 4th grade, Hebron
• Eric Outsen, “Smoke Free Begins with Me,” 5th grade, Kankakee
• Jill Patrick, “Cigarettes Can Change Dreams Into Smoke,” 4th grade, New Holland
• Emily Skaggs, “Let’s Start a New Millennium Off Right,” 6th grade, Edge Water Beach
• Cassie Taylor, “Don’t Smoke. Don’t Chew Tobacco. Just Don’t,” 5th grade, Carlyle
• Paul Wilson, “Smoke Kills Living Things. So Don’t Smoke,” 4th grade, Watseka
• Brooke Zachry, “Kick the Habit,” 5th grade, Carlyle

View the winning designs

Illinois Department of Public Health 535 West Jefferson Street Springfield, Illinois 62761 Phone 217-782-4977 Fax 217-782-3987 TTY 800-547-0466 Questions or Comments