UPDATED Dec.5:

The deadline has been extended through 5 p.m. Friday, Dec, 16 to allow even more individuals who are interested in participating to submit entries.

MEDIA RELEASE

Clear the Smoke is inviting local shutterbugs and photography fanatics to use their creativity to capture the effects of tobacco in Hawaii for the Clear the Smoke Photo Project.

Through Dec. 10, 2011, photographers of all skill levels can submit images that address the following topics:

* How has tobacco use affected Hawaii or your community?
* How has tobacco affected your family or friends?
* How has tobacco affected you personally?

Thirty photos will be chosen by a selection panel and professionally displayed in a photography exhibit at The ARTS at Marks Garage in Honolulu.

The ARTS at Marks Garage has donated cash prizes that will be awarded to the top three highest scoring photos: first place – $300; second place – $150; third place – $50.

An opening reception will be hosted for the unveiling of the exhibit on Slow Art Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. This exhibit will also become a traveling exhibit to be featured at different venues throughout Hawaii.

“The Clear the Smoke Photo Project is our way of engaging everyone – smokers, non-smokers and former smokers – to help bring to life, through the lens of photography, how tobacco use affects us, our family friends, and the islands,” said Julian D. Lipsher, Tobacco Prevention and Control Program Manager of the state Department of Health.

“Almost everyone knows someone who smokes or has been affected by tobacco somehow. We hope this event will bring into focus how our community is affected, and put a human face on this issue,” Lipsher said.

Photographers can submit their images to the Clear the Smoke Photo Project by following the instructions on www.clearthesmoke.org/photoproject.

The ARTS at Marks Garage is a collaborative gallery, performance and office space for businesses and non-profit organizations aiming to transform downtown Honolulu with the power of the arts. Located in Chinatown and the Honolulu Arts and Cultural District, the gallery is visited by thousands of art enthusiasts each month.

The Clear the Smoke campaign is funded exclusively by the Hawaii Tobacco Prevention and Control Trust Fund and administered by the state Department of Health. The goal of the campaign is to fight back against the tobacco industry with an aggressive and effective public awareness and counter-marketing campaign.

The trust fund’s dollars represent a portion of Hawaii’s Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) payments, which are the result of a joint lawsuit against the four biggest U.S. tobacco companies to recover health care costs for treatment of tobacco-related illnesses paid for by taxpayers.

The Tobacco Prevention and Control Trust Fund and its Advisory Board were created by Hawaii’s landmark legislation (Act 304, SLH 1999) devoting a significant portion of Hawaii’s tobacco settlement money to public health efforts.