Teens holding anti-tobacco signs at the OVX youth rally in Vermont

Who Is OVX?

OVX (Our Voices Xposed) is all about empowering Vermont youth to lead the way in tobacco and nicotine prevention – making each voice heard. We focus on strengths and help you build the skills you need to become a leader. With support from adult advisors and community partners, OVX members educate school peers, community members and local state decision makers about how companies who make nicotine products, like vapes and pouches, try to target (and hook) young people.

New members are always welcome!

What We Do

  • Make a difference: help improve the health of our communities.
  • Spread the word: educate others about the sneaky tactics tobacco & vape companies use to hook young customers.
  • Share the facts: talk about the health risks and social downsides of smoking, vaping and nicotine use.
  • Speak up: inform local and state decision makers on tobacco and nicotine related issues from a teen’s perspective.

OVX Youth Collaborative

Want to be a change maker? The OVX Youth Collaborative provides a leadership opportunity to students who want to get actively engaged in nicotine and tobacco prevention within their schools and communities. Students must be entering grades 7-11 in the fall and be interested in public health and wellness, youth leadership, event organization and using their voices to create positive change. Applications are available each spring for students seeking to work with their peers in the following school year. Stipends available. Watch here for updates.

Youth group collaborating around a table

2025-2026 OVX Youth Collaborative Members

  • Bellows Free Academy (St. Albans) – Keria H. & Bonnie L.
  • Green Mountain Technical Career Center – Arlo B.
  • Hartford Memorial High School – Katharine S.
  • Lamoille Union High School – Michaila T.
  • Missisquoi Valley Union High School – Jasmyn H.
  • Vergennes Union Middle School – Ellis H. & Katie J
  • Woodstock Union High School – Aleksandra C.

Join The Movement

For more information on OVX membership, applications for the OVX Youth Collaborative, or support implementing OVX activities in your school or community, please contact the Vermont Department of Health Tobacco Control Program at TobaccoVT@Vermont.gov.

See if your school has an OVX chapter.

View The List

OVX Vermont Students Speak Unfiltered

We asked OVX Vermont teens their thoughts and feelings about nicotine use, here’s what they had to say:

OVX Vermont Students Speak Unfiltered

We asked OVX Vermont teens their thoughts and feelings about nicotine use, here’s what they had to say:

How do you feel when people use tobacco and nicotine products around you?
‍
12:34
I feel uncomfortable because I don't like when people smoke or vape next to me and the smell is nasty.
– 12½  years old
12:43
How do you feel when you see tobacco and nicotine products being used in movies and by social media influencers?
‍
2:03
Grossed out by them
– 13 years old
2:12
Teen leaned up against a tree using their phone
What do you wish adults knew about vaping?
‍
3:21
How much drugs and alcohol negatively affect kids, and how it needs to be different. If adults want to harm themselves with tobacco products, their loss, but kids - no way.
– 12 years old
3:30
How has vaping and nicotine impacted your life?
‍
3:47
Vaping has impacted my life when people I know, who are my age, vape around me. This makes me very worried for them and makes me feel how harmful and unfair this big vape companies are in a more personal way.
– 14 years old
4:04

Statewide Youth Engagement Programs

Community events and the Annual OVX Youth Statehouse Rally, held in February in Montpelier, provide youth with a platform to educate and inform key decision-makers and fellow Vermonters about tobacco and nicotine-related issues, as seen and experienced firsthand.

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