YOUNG Victorians are being urged to “see through the haze” as part of the largest anti-vaping campaign in Australia’s history.
A new Quit campaign highlighting the risks of vaping has been launched alongside research by Cancer Council Victoria’s Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer.
The “See through the haze” campaign includes footage of a young person vaping around friends.
The person exhales a cloud of aerosol which gradually morphs to represent objects containing chemicals that are also in e-cigarettes, such as biofuel, paint thinner and insect killer.
Vapes have been marketed with flavours and bright colours to make the products attractive to teenagers and primary school children, Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said.
“Vaping is being used by the tobacco industry in an insidious way to make another generation of young people addicted to nicotine and tobacco products,” she said this week.
Ms Thomas said the campaign was an Australian-first, arming young people and parents with information about the harms of vaping.
An online hub will provide parents with guidance to start conversations with young people about e-cigarettes, advice on how to know if their child is vaping, and links to additional resources for support.
Cancer Council Victoria chief executive Todd Harper 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.”
Quit director Matthew Scanlon said the organisation had at times felt powerless to stop the wave of nicotine addiction but the initiatives would address the problem.
The latest Cancer Council research reveals many Victorians are still unaware of the risks associated with vaping.
While 67 per cent of Victorian adults disagree the dangers of vaping have been exaggerated, a third are unsure or think otherwise.
Nearly one in five (19 per cent) Victorian adults agree or are not sure whether e-cigarettes contain dangerous chemicals.
E-cigarette liquids can contain more than 200 chemicals, including arsenic and benzene which are known to cause cancer.
Usage of vapes has been confirmed to cause seizures, lung, facial and oral injuries, dizziness, loss of concentration, and nicotine poisoning.
Exposure to nicotine can exacerbate mood disorders and has been linked to negative impacts on cognitive performance and brain structure.
The federal government has vowed to ban the import of all non-prescription e-cigarettes under a $234 million regulatory crackdown announced in the May budget, but no funding was set aside to enforce it.
