Students honored in CVS-funded anti-smoking PSA contest

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Student filmmakers from high schools and middle schools throughout California took home regional honors in the third-annual Anti-Tobacco Video Contest for the Public Service Announcements produced to raise awareness of the dangers of tobacco.

The contest was organized by Breathe California as part of a $100,000 grant from CVS Health. Middle- and high-school students from Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Jose and San Francisco were invited to submit a PSA video on their vision of the first tobacco-free generation.

Statewide winners will announced on Feb. 25 in Sacramento as part of the Breathe Youth Media Awards.

"The PSA videos are a great way for students to have conversations about the dangers of tobacco with their teachers and peers in their own words and to imagine what the first tobacco-free generation will look like," said Kori Titus, CEO, Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails. "We are very grateful to CVS Health for their support and leadership in helping to deliver the first tobacco-free generation."

CVS Health’s support for Breathe California is part of its “Be The First” five-year, $50 million initiative to help deliver the first tobacco-free generation and extend the company’s commitment to helping people lead tobacco-free lives.

"Tobacco use, especially among our youth, is one of the most pressing public health issues that we face today," said Eileen Howard Boone, SVP of Corporate Social Responsibility and Philanthropy at CVS Health. "We're proud to support Breathe California whose mission is to promote a tobacco-free generation and we look forward to continuing our work with them to harness the passion of young people to make an impact on the issues they care about."

In addition to the PSA contest, the grant provided by CVS Health will help each of the Breathe chapters expand their youth prevention training and education programming. 

Winning local PSAs can be viewed here: