CANBERRA High School student, Jacqui Trevina Trimble has won the fourteenth annual “Art In, Butt Out” competition for her poster warning teenagers of the risks of smoking.

The competition is an initiative of the Australian Medical Association (AMA ACT) and its Tobacco Task Force that sees Year 8 students from around Canberra  come up with a poster aimed at reducing the number of young people who smoke.

AMA (ACT) President Prof Walter Abhayaratna said all the entries were of a very high standard and commended all the budding art, design and marketing stars who submitted a design and got involved with the competition this year.

“Jacqui’s winning entry has all the elements we were looking for and the artwork sends a clear message that will help influence teenagers to think twice about taking up smoking or convince them to quit,” Prof Abhayaratna said.

“’Art In, Butt Out’ encourages young people to think about their health and well-being and to support peer-to-peer education about the harmfulness of smoking and tobacco products.

“The competition can help in the fight against smoking because the public health messages being created are designed by teenagers for teenagers. These students know what motivates their friends and how to most effectively convince them to make the smart choice.”

Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said campaigns like this can make a lifelong difference to young Canberrans.

“The competition is a creative approach to raising awareness about the dangers of tobacco and nicotine use among young people – the group most at risk of taking up smoking or vaping,” she said.