The City of Stonnington is working with young people, schools, and their families to create healthier, vape-free environments.
We have joined with four neighbouring councils for the Fresh Take Project. This VicHealth-funded project aims to help students to raise awareness and develop solutions to educate and support their peers to reject vaping.
Vaping and young people
Vapes, or e-cigarettes, have colourful packaging and flavours to appeal to young people. However, vapes harm young brains and cause lung damage, cancer and heart disease. They can also contain nicotine, with young people more susceptible to addiction.
Australian vaping laws have changed to protect all Australians, particularly young people. For more information, visit the Department of Health and Aged Care website.
About the project
The Fresh Take Project will invite 150 secondary school students to participate in workshops during terms 2 and 3. They will learn to create content (videos, social media reels, photography), build a campaign, and influence real change.
The project aims to:
- raise awareness – help young people understand the harms of vaping and build their confidence to say no
- empower young people – support youth-led and community-driven efforts to address vaping
- create safer spaces – reduce the presence and visibility of vaping and vape products where young people spend time.
Content will be aligned with health promotion goals around vaping. Creative agency Your Creative will help the students to design and implement their content.
Who is involved?
We are collaborating on the project with four other south-east councils: Bayside City Council, City of Kingston, City of Port Phillip and Glen Eira City Council.
The project has support from Caulfield Community Health Service, Better Health Network, South-East Public Health Unit, VicHealth, QUIT Victoria and Headspace.
Background
The initiative is informed by findings from the Influencing GenVape report, which highlights the prevalence of vaping among young people.
The report found a correlation between higher disposable income and access to vapes, increasing risk of harm. Given the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) scores for the five partner councils, young people in the area are at disproportionate risk.