$300 Winner!
Breathe in the Shadows
by Martin Navarrete
Martin, a 16-year-old from South Fork High School, created a striking art piece focused on the dangers of secondhand smoke. Using charcoal and colored pencils, he illustrates how smoke creeps into everyday spaces, affecting even those who don’t choose to smoke. His powerful imagery includes words spiraling through the smoke, emphasizing how these toxic messages silently reach others—particularly families. The visual effect makes the hidden dangers of secondhand smoke impossible to ignore, offering a thoughtful and impactful interpretation of the issue.
$250 Winners!
Toxic Innocence
by Anora Blackwell
Anora, a 15-year-old from South Fork High School, chose to address the dangers of secondhand smoke through a digital art piece that focuses on its impact on children. She was inspired by learning how exposure to smoke can damage developing lungs and used Procreate to create a powerful image of a crying teddy bear, a symbol of innocence harmed by others’ choices. With strong emotional expression and striking visual contrast, her work highlights how smoking affects more than just the person holding the cigarette.
The Labrinth Made of Ash
by Skylar Page
Skylar, a 15-year-old student from Casterlin High School in Humboldt County, wrote a haunting and eloquent short story that explores the theme of Big Tobacco's manipulation. Through the metaphor of a never-ending labyrinth made of ash and desiccated lungs, the narrative follows a character named Ash as he confronts the harrowing consequences of addiction. The black key in his hand symbolizes the deceptive pull of tobacco, a tool of manipulation that promises escape but ultimately delivers regret and decay. Skylar's powerful language and vivid imagery expose the psychological grip and devastation caused by tobacco, offering a chilling portrait of a life consumed.
$200 Winners!
Cooler Than Me
by Jimmy Bates
Jimmy, a 16-year-old student from Casterlin High School, takes on the topic of Big Tobacco’s manipulation through a powerful performance poem. His piece challenges the false image of smoking and vaping as “cool,” using sharp language and a rhythmic structure to expose the hidden costs behind that image. Jimmy flips the narrative, showing how the industry deceives youth into thinking addiction is a choice worth making. His words hit with emotion and clarity, offering a bold critique of the way tobacco companies market to young people.
Second Hand Hurts
by Lillian Schoonover
Lillian Schoonover, a 20-year-old artist from Del Norte County, created a bold art piece addressing Big Tobacco’s manipulation. Inspired by exaggerated anti-smoking ads from the 2000s, they used bright colors and reimagined textures to grab attention and emphasize the overlooked dangers of secondhand smoke. Their work invites viewers to consider how smoking choices affect not only loved ones but also strangers who share the same spaces.
What They Make You think vs Reality
by Kara-Mae Carson
Kara-Mae, a 14-year-old student from Eureka Senior High, explores the topic of Big Tobacco’s manipulation through a bold digital art piece. Her work reveals how tobacco companies use bright, attractive ads to cover up the harm their products cause. One of the most striking parts of her design is a vape pen that shows two sides of the story: on the outside, hard truths and warnings about addiction, and on the inside, the quiet, convincing thoughts people tell themselves to keep using. The piece invites viewers to look beyond surface messaging and consider the deeper impact of tobacco marketing.
$175 Winners!
The Hazard
by Rylan Caron
Rylan, a 15-year-old student from Del Norte High School, addresses Big Tobacco’s manipulation through a mixed media art piece that contrasts the damage caused by smoking with the hope of staying tobacco-free. Inspired by how common smoking has become in everyday life, Rylan created two lungs, one made from green plants to symbolize health, and the other from scorched and damaged materials to show the harm caused by tobacco use. With thoughtful attention to anatomy and detail, this powerful art piece encourages people to see the real effects of smoking on both the body and mind.
The First Hit
by Emmalee Edgins
Emmalee, a 17-year-old from South Fork High School, explored the topic of youth access in her digital art piece. She was inspired to capture the feeling of what it’s like when smoke moves through the body for the first time, creating a visual that connects with the physical and emotional impact of that initial experience. Using her iPad, she combined bold colors and clear messaging to make a direct and memorable statement. The result is a powerful image that speaks to the importance of saying no before that first hit ever happens.
Smoking Kills (More than just you)
by Aurora Rose Galaz
Aurora, a 17-year-old student from South Fork High School in Humboldt County, submitted a powerful poem addressing the environmental impact of tobacco. Her piece confronts the pollution caused by cigarette production and consumption, personifying the earth as a victim of this widespread habit. Through imagery and sharp phrasing, the writing calls attention to the hidden cost of smoking, not just on health, but on the environment. With lines like “that stick’s got blood in its filter,” the work forces readers to confront the damage caused to forests and ecosystems, all for the sake of a fleeting high.
Till Death Do Us Part
by Aleah Allender
Aleah, a 16-year-old student from Casterlin High School in Humboldt County, created an emotionally resonant artwork addressing the theme of Big Tobacco's manipulation. Inspired by the memory of her great aunt, who passed away from bone cancer after a lifetime of smoking, Aleah’s piece illustrates how tobacco can hook individuals for life and lead to devastating health consequences. The haunting image of a skull in the smoke is especially striking, capturing the fatal grip of addiction and the manipulative power of the industry behind it.
$150 Winners!
Temptation
by Maryann Rosas Velazquez
Maryann, a 15-year-old student from Del Norte High School in Del Norte County, submitted a powerful poetic piece on Big Tobacco’s manipulation. Using vivid language and repetition, she highlights the constant presence of tobacco marketing in everyday life, especially in rural communities. Her writing reflects both personal vulnerability and a strong critique of the industry’s tactics, offering an emotionally honest call to resist its influence.
Night and Day
by Reed Bremer
Reed, a 16-year-old student from Casterlin High School in Humboldt County, created a powerful art piece exploring the theme of secondhand smoke. Using clay, wood, paint, and physical pressure, Reed constructed a visual comparison between a healthy lung and one damaged by smoking. The anatomical accuracy, use of contrasting colors, and attention to detail draw viewers in, effectively highlighting the often invisible harm caused by tobacco exposure.
Secondhand Lungs
by Eden Arreguin
Eden, a 14-year-old student from South Fork High School in Humboldt County, created a thoughtful written piece addressing the theme of Big Tobacco's manipulation. Through poetic language, Eden reflects on the dangers of secondhand smoke, challenging the misconception that vapor is harmless. The message, underscored by the idea that "we all breathe the same air," urges readers to consider how tobacco use affects everyone, not just the user. The piece carries a clear emotional weight and a personal desire to convince others not to smoke or use tobacco.
$125 Winners!
Not So New News
by Molly Perkins
Molly, a 16-year-old student from South Fork High School in Humboldt County, created a powerful digital art piece addressing the topic of Big Tobacco’s manipulation. The work uses striking graphic design to expose the widespread harm caused by the tobacco industry both to individuals and the broader world. With strong visual flow and compelling symbolism such as the depiction of a cigarette as a smoking gun, it captures how tobacco companies continue to deceive the public while causing real damage.
You Were Born to Breathe
by Marina Dodge
Marina, a 15-year-old student from South Fork High School, addresses the issue of youth access to tobacco through a bright and hopeful painting. Her artwork centers on the belief that “all lungs should be free,” using colorful imagery and vibrant flowers to symbolize clean air and the right to breathe without the threat of harmful substances. The positive tone and strong visual composition help express a powerful message: that every person deserves to grow up in a world where clean air is a given, not a privilege.
Not Dope Don’t Smoke
by Sam Bruebaker
Sam, a 17-year-old student from South Fork High School in Humboldt County, created a striking artwork that tackles the theme of Big Tobacco's manipulation. Using only a ballpoint pen, she crafted an image that is both unsettling and captivating, featuring lungs and a trachea forming the fuse of a bomb. This bold visual metaphor draws attention to the destructive consequences of tobacco use and the way the industry disguises harm beneath addictive appeal. The detailed line work and imaginative concept reflect a personal, raw approach to exposing the dangers of smoking.
Leaving Cigarettes Behind Kills
by Lillian Wilson
Lillian, a 14-year-old student from South Fork High School in Humboldt County, created a diorama to explore the environmental impact of tobacco waste. Through her work, she highlights how discarded cigarettes harm wildlife, using a creative 3D approach to show that even after being thrown away, tobacco products continue to cause damage. The piece serves as a reminder that leaving cigarettes behind doesn’t end their consequences—it simply passes them on to the natural world.
Ashes of the Earth
by Raevyn Reveles
Raevyn, a 17-year-old student from South Fork High School in Humboldt County, created a powerful acrylic painting that addresses the environmental impact of tobacco use. Drawing from her observation of cigarette litter in everyday places, she transforms the Earth into an ashtray, visually overwhelmed by smoke and pollution. The imagery evokes a sense of global suffocation, cleverly illustrating how tobacco use extends its harm far beyond individual health to the planet itself.
Beyond the Smoke
by Aiyanna Camacho
Aiyanna, a 14-year-old student from South Fork High School in Humboldt County, submitted a heartfelt short story that addresses the topic of youth access to tobacco. Through the fictional character Xavier, she illustrates how peer pressure and the desire to appear mature can lead teens into addiction. The story follows Xavier’s difficult journey to quit smoking, supported by friends, family, and eventually a teen support group. With determination and personal growth, he transforms his experience into advocacy by creating “Breathe Free,” a group dedicated to helping other young people overcome addiction. Aiyanna’s piece carries a strong message of hope, resilience, and the power of peer-led change.
Tobacco Trash - A Planet In Peril
by Leila Coleman
Leila, a student at South Fork High School in Humboldt County, created an art piece that explores the environmental impact of commercial tobacco use. Her work uses a vivid visual contrast to show a planet divided between health and destruction, with one side full of natural beauty and the other littered and polluted. By focusing on the overlooked environmental consequences of tobacco, her piece invites viewers to consider how deeply these products affect the Earth itself. With strong imagery and intentional symbolism, her message is both urgent and thought-provoking.
To All the Parents Who Smoke
by Evan Michael
Evan is a 17-year-old from Sunset High School in Del Norte County. His spoken word style poem addresses Big Tobacco’s manipulation by focusing on the powerful influence parents have on their children when it comes to smoking. The piece calls out the cycle of addiction, urging adults to recognize how their actions, often shaped by outside influence, can unintentionally lead the next generation down the same path. With direct language and emotional urgency, it delivers a heartfelt call for change, asking parents to consider the impact of their choices on the ones who look up to them most.
The Boulder
by Brenna Wagner
Brenna, a 16-year-old student from Del Norte High School, takes on the topic of Big Tobacco’s manipulation in a heartfelt and powerful poem. Inspired by people close to her who have struggled with nicotine addiction, she shows how the tobacco industry can trap people in habits that are hard to break. Using clear language, strong rhythm, and the image of a heavy boulder to show the weight of addiction, her writing is easy to understand but full of emotion. Her piece leaves a lasting impact and encourages readers to think more critically about who’s behind the smoke.
Butts Out, the Cost of Tobacco
by Mackenzie Coleman
Mackenzie, a 15-year-old student from South Fork High School in Humboldt County, created an artwork addressing the environmental impact of tobacco. Her drawing, made with colored pencils and charcoal, features a powerful visual of the Earth being used as an ashtray, representing how tobacco waste pollutes the planet we all share. The piece emphasizes the urgent need to protect our environment from the harmful effects of tobacco products, reminding viewers that we have only one planet to care for.
$100 Winners!
Alice in Wonderland Anti-smoking
by Marley Stillwell
Marley, a 16-year-old student from South Fork High School in Humboldt County, created a visually impactful artwork that addresses the topic of youth access to tobacco. Drawing inspiration from the loss of someone older to smoking, Marley reimagines a scene from Alice in Wonderland, using the Caterpillar character to critique how smoking is often portrayed in familiar media. With bold color choices and a detailed background, the piece sends a clear message about the dangers of normalizing tobacco use for young audiences.
Lady Lungs
by Team Free Keys
Fire Townsend and Emilie Ifversen, both 15-year-old students from Eureka High School, collaborated on a digital artwork that powerfully illustrates the environmental damage caused by tobacco. Their piece features a woman struggling to breathe amidst smoke-filled air, surrounded by lifeless birds and pollution from a looming cigarette factory. Fire focused on drawing the woman, while Emilie created the haunting background, combining their talents to form a unified and emotionally impactful scene. Inspired by the harm tobacco inflicts on nature and wildlife, their work serves as a vivid reminder of the broader consequences of tobacco use on the planet.
Youths Access to Vape/Smoke
by Cylis Thomas Keith Davidson
Cylis, a 13-year-old student from Crescent Elk Middle School in Del Norte County, addresses the topic of youth access to tobacco and vaping. He writes from personal experience as a middle schooler and sheds light on the disturbing prevalence of vaping among young people today. Drawing from his mother’s experience growing up around smoking, he expresses concern for how easily kids are able to access harmful products through friends, family, or illegal sources. His perspective is both sincere and urgent, emphasizing the importance of awareness and community efforts to reduce youth exposure and make a lasting impact.
Expand Your Vision
by Henry Wilson
Henry, a 14-year-old student from Miranda Junior High School, uses drawing to explore the manipulative nature of Big Tobacco. His art piece shows a student trapped in a tunnel filled with vape smoke, peering out toward a bright, natural world just beyond reach. The contrast between the dark, smoky tunnel and the clean, open landscape highlights the struggle between addiction and the desire for freedom. Using paper, pen, and colored pencils, Henry creates a clear and powerful message that encourages viewers to step outside the haze and “expand their vision.”
Secondhand Smoke
by Johanna Miskinis
Johanna, a 17-year-old student from Middletown High School in Lake County, created a painting that examines Big Tobacco’s manipulation and its broader consequences. Her piece uses the concept of secondhand smoke to show how the industry's deceptive tactics harm not only those who smoke, but also the people around them. Through symbolic imagery, she reveals how appealing visuals can mask serious health risks, encouraging viewers to look more critically at the messages they are being sold.
I Miss You
by Danika-Lee Huff
Danika-Lee chose to explore the topic of Big Tobacco’s manipulation through a haunting and emotional art piece. Using sculpture as her medium, she illustrated the deep impact of smoking, not just the physical effects like hair and limb loss, but also the emotional toll, such as detachment and isolation. Her work also touches on the connection between tobacco use and alcohol, creating a layered representation of harm. Through bold symbolism and a raw visual approach, the piece sheds light on the often-overlooked consequences of addiction.
Drawing
by Hannah Savio
Hannah, a 16-year-old student from South Fork High School in Humboldt County, created a striking pencil and pen drawing exploring the topic of Big Tobacco’s manipulation. Her piece boldly illustrates the dangerous side effects of smoking through stark imagery and detailed design, particularly in the depiction of the head, lighter, and mouth. With an attention-grabbing composition, the artwork conveys a clear message about the deceptive influence of tobacco companies and the harmful realities they obscure.