Tobacco and E-Cigarette Related Harm

We all deserve a clean, safe and healthy environment. Stopping the use of tobacco or e-cigarettes helps people to live healthier and longer lives. The South Coast Prevention Team work with settings across the sub-region to prevent and reduce tobacco and e-cigarette related harm. This includes working with workplaces, schools and early childhood services to implement the Smoking Benchmark of the Achievement Program.

Vaping Prevention in Secondary Schools initiative

The South Coast Prevention Team work with secondary schools in Bass Coast and South Gippsland to deliver a whole of school approach to prevent vaping.

The initiative contains two key elements:
Student Workshops, focusing on marketing tactics used by e-cigarette companies to target young people, the health impacts of vaping, encouraging students to develop ways to ‘say no’, and raising awareness of support services
Prevention Toolkit for Secondary Schools, which supports the application of a whole of school approach to vaping. This includes policy review, display of ‘no smoking or vaping’ signs, resources for parents and carers, and vaping prevention education across the school curriculum.

You may find these resources useful:
• Vaping Support for young people
• Talking to your Teen about vaping a conversation guide for parents, developed by VicHealth and The Behaviour Change Collaborative, can help you have a meaningful, non-threatening conversation with your teen about vaping.
• Seeing Through the Haze is a free teaching resource from Quit Victoria to equip students with the critical thinking skills to create change for a vape and smoke free future.

Useful resources and links

• Victorian Smokefree Legislation
• Achievement Program
• Quit Victoria
• Quitline
• Better Health Channel
• World No Tobacco Day