Quit the Vape.
On Thursday 30 May Ballarat Community Health are launching a 30 second advertisement highlighting the harms of vaping, encouraging young people to quit or never start. The ad will screen at the start of every movie at Show Biz Cinemas at Delacombe Town Centre for 3-months which coincides with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) World No Tobacco Day on Friday 31 May 2024.
The theme for World No Tobacco Day this year is protecting children from tobacco industry interference. It gives a platform to young people across the world, who are urging governments to shield them from predatory tobacco marketing tactics. The industry targets youth for a lifetime of profits, creating a new wave of addiction. Children are using e-cigarettes at rates higher than adults in all regions and globally an estimated 37 million youth aged 13–15 years use tobacco (World No Tobacco Day 2024 (who.int). Quit Victoria states an astonishing 77,200 Victorian adults who had never smoked before, began vaping between 2018 to 2022. Over half the adults who vaped in 2022 were aged between 18 and 29.
BCH CEO, Sean Duffy said:
“Ballarat Community Health helps to educate and support our community achieve better health, particularly for those that need it most. Despite smoking being the leading preventable cause of death, we are still seeing an increase in the use of e-cigarettes by young people and people that have never smoked before. Of additional concern is the harm that is being done to non-smokers and children.
“As an organisation we are committed to reduce the harms from smoking and vaping which then helps reduce the pressure on our health system caused by preventable diseases. Supporting people to quit is a journey, and we are working collaboratively with other health organisations and regional partners to achieve this. Collectively we can reduce the potential impact on the health of our community, and our local health system.”
BCH has partnered with the City of Ballarat and other local businesses to design and implement this campaign to the Ballarat region. Throughout the next month, there will also be a local school bus highlighting the harms of vaping, encouraging young people to quit or never start. To complement the cinema ad and bus wrap there will be a tailored social media campaign targeted towards specific audiences.
For more information or support to quit visit: bchc.org.au/service/smokingandvapingsupport/
