Contest Overview
When it comes to vaping, what you don’t know CAN hurt you.
Vaping comes with a lot of mixed messages. What’s true? What’s a myth? What should young people know before making decisions about their health? This year, Capital Healthy Students is challenging middle school students to find out.
Let’s Clear the Air: The Truth About Vaping invites students to research the facts and turn what they learn into a creative, one-minute PSA video designed to reach the people who may listen to them most: other students. We’ve been so impressed by the creativity and storytelling that students bring to our campaigns, and we can’t wait to see what they do with this important topic.
Entry Deadline: May 7, 2027
Seven awards. $10,000 in total prize money.
Following the May 7 deadline, finalist videos will be reviewed by the Capital Health judging committee. Three $2,000 awards and four $1,000 Honorable Mention awards will be presented based on the following categories:
Most Creative: A fresh, original approach that finds a memorable way to tell the story.
Most Impactful: A PSA that gets your attention, stays with you and makes you think.
Best Messaging: A clear, effective message that gets the point across to other students.
Honorable Mention: Four outstanding submissions deserving special recognition will each receive a $1,000 award.
Each monetary award will be presented to the PTO or PTA of the winning school for a total of $10,000 in awards. A participating school may receive more than one monetary award.
How To Enter
- Create a PSA video of one minute or less. The video can be created individually or as part of a team.
- Submit your video to your teacher according to your school’s instructions.
- Your teacher may select up to three videos from your school as finalists to advance to Capital Health’s judging committee.
- Every finalist will receive an award certificate from Capital Health recognizing their achievement.
Participating Schools
The 2026 to 2027 contest is open to students attending the following participating public schools: Pennsbury School District (Charles Boehm Middle School, Pennwood Middle School, William Penn Middle School); Council Rock School District (Holland Middle School, Newtown Middle School); Neshaminy School District (Maple Point Middle School, Carl Sandburg Middle School, Poquessing Middle School); New Hope-Solebury School District (New Hope-Solebury Middle School); Hamilton Township School District (Crockett Middle School, Grice Middle School, Reynolds Middle School); Hopewell Valley Regional School District (Timberlane Middle School); Trenton Public School District (Grace A. Dunn Middle School, Dr. MLK Jr. Middle School, Arthur J. Holland Middle School); Ewing Township School District (Gilmore J. Fisher Middle School); and Lawrence Township Public Schools (Lawrence Intermediate School, Lawrence Middle School).
Important Information
Contest runs through May 7, 2027. Teachers must submit their school’s selected finalists to Capital Health by 11:59 p.m. EST on this date. Finalists and award recipients will be announced following the judging process.
For complete contest rules and FAQ, click here. Need some inspiration? Click here to watch the winning videos from our 2025-2026 "Post Positive" PSA Video Contest.
For questions or additional information, please contact Rebecca Kelly, Director of Strategic Partnerships, at [email protected].
Click here to download/print the contest flyer.
For Students
Your voice. Your story. Your PSA.
You hear a lot about vaping. You may see it online, hear about it from friends, or come across messages that make it seem harmless. But how much of what you hear is actually true? Here’s your chance to clear the air.
Do some research. Find something you think other students should know. Then turn it into a one minute PSA video that teaches them something in a creative and engaging way. Your PSA shouldn’t simply try to scare people about vaping. We want you to educate and inform. Maybe you uncover a fact that surprises you or you tackle a common myth. Perhaps you find something out about vaping that you think other students misunderstand. Whatever direction you choose, think about the person watching your video. What do you want them to know that they didn’t know before? Then find a creative way to tell that story.
Put yourself in the picture!
Some of our favorite videos over the years have featured students themselves, and we love seeing you in front of the camera. Act out a scene. Tell a story. Create characters. Interview each other. You don’t need fancy equipment or special effects. A great idea, good information, and your own personality can go a long way.
Need an idea?
- Myths versus facts about vaping
- Nicotine and addiction
- What vaping can do to your body
- What’s actually in a vape
- Peer pressure and social influences
- How vaping is marketed to young people
- Reasons to remain vape free
- Another vaping related topic you think students should know about
Be informative. Be creative. Make us want to keep watching. Most importantly, make it something that you would want to watch and share with a friend.
For Teachers
You know your students’ work best
Teachers have always been an important part of Capital Healthy Students. This year, we’re giving you an even greater role in recognizing your students. Rather than sending every entry directly to Capital Health, teachers may select up to three videos from their school to advance as finalists. This gives you an opportunity to recognize the hard work, creativity and storytelling of your students before the finalist videos move on to the Capital Health judging committee. Each finalist will receive an award certificate from Capital Health.
Once you have selected your finalists, upload and submit the videos to Capital Health.
More time to participate
We’ve extended the entry deadline to May 7, 2027, giving schools plenty of time to participate and allowing the campaign to fit into either a fall or spring block schedule. Use the contest as a classroom project, an individual assignment, or another format that works best for your students and curriculum.
Need help getting started? We’re happy to come to your classroom to introduce the campaign, talk with students about the challenge, and help get them excited about creating their videos!
For Parents and Families
Capital Healthy Students encourages young people to learn about health issues that affect them and share what they learn through their own voices and creativity. Parents and families can help by asking students about their ideas, encouraging them to research reliable information, and talking with them about what they discover along the way. The goal isn’t simply to create a great video. We hope the process itself starts conversations at school, at home, and among friends.