Victorians are urged to “See though the haze” and “Get the facts on vaping” in a new campaign being launched today.
The Quit campaign launching alongside new research by Cancer Council Victoria’s Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer is the biggest vaping education campaign in Australia to date.
The campaign reveals many Victorians are still unaware of the risks associated to vapes and e-cigarettes.
An alarming one in five Victorians agree or unsure whether e-cigarettes do not contain dangerous chemicals, despite 67 per cent of Victorians disagree the dangers of vaping have been exaggerated.
Stay up-to-date on the latest news with The National Briefing – keeping you in the loop with news as it hits:
The ‘See through the haze’ campaign targets 14- to 39-year-old people and the online ‘Get the facts on vaping’ hub is designed for parents and carers of young people.
Quit Director Matthew Scanlon said the organisation had at times felt powerless to stop the wave of nicotine addiction.
“However, today we’re immensely proud to unveil two brand new initiatives designed to address vaping – aimed at young people, and parents or carers of young people,” he said.
Cancer Council Victoria CEO Todd Harper AM said the urgency of the issue made the campaign more relevant than ever.
“We need to call vaping what it is – the resurgence of the tobacco industry,” he said.
“Quit’s campaign and online hub will help the community to see through the manipulative tactics of this predatory industry and ultimately prevent health harms from e-cigarette usage.”
The prevalence of e-cigarette usage has significantly increased in Victoria over the last three years. Seventy-seven thousand, two hundred Victorian adults who previously never smoked started vaping between 2018-19 and 2022.
Of the 308,827 Victorian adults who reported vaping in 2022, more than half were aged between 18–29.
The ‘See through the haze’ campaign will run from May 29 to July 7.
To view the online hub or find out more about the campaign visit vapingfacts.org.au. For support to stop vaping call Quitline 13 7848 or visit quit.org.au.
Subscribe to The Briefing, Australia’s fastest-growing news podcast on Listnr today. The Briefing serves up the latest news headlines and a deep dive into a topic affecting you. All in under 20 minutes.