Melton City Council joins campaign to protect young people from vaping
Published on 30 August 2024
Melton City Council is proud to join health promotion foundation VicHealth and more than 40 organisations across Victoria in a new $2m initiative to help young people to say no to vaping.
Delivered by VicHealth, Vape-Free Victoria will see Melton City Council join 28 other councils, five universities, five sporting bodies and teams, the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, Quit Victoria and the State Government to help young people understand the dangers of vaping.
Melton City Council will work with three community health organisations and four other councils to develop workshops and culturally accessible social media campaigns to reduce or prevent the start of vaping among people from diverse communities aged 10 to 25 years.
The project aims to help young people and their parents by increasing their awareness of the harm caused by vaping and build their ability and confidence to say no to vaping.
As part of Vape-Free Victoria, elite sporting bodies and teams will promote the project across the state at sporting carnivals, youth holiday programs, events and on social media.
The Alcohol and Drug Foundation will teach coaches at sporting clubs around Victoria about preventing vaping and how to help young people who have started vaping give it up and tertiary institutions will establish student advocates and offer education and training to health and wellbeing staff.
Quotes attributable to City of Melton Mayor Cr Kathy Majdlik
“The health of our residents is incredibly important to us and it’s why we are rolling out a series of programs and workshops to help our growing and diverse community say no to vaping.’’
“Local projects like ours will empower young people to warn their friends about the health risks of vaping and give them the confidence to either stop, or not start, vaping.”
“We are proud to support young people across the City of Melton and to give them the opportunities to thrive and help their friends and family live healthier lives.’’
Quotes attributable to Executive Manager Health Promotion Systems at VicHealth, Michelle Murray
“We know that too many young Victorians started vaping because they weren’t aware of the harms – they had no warning.”
“This initiative is about giving young people the tools to warn each other about vaping through real, authentic stories.’’
“We’re working with sports clubs, universities and local councils to roll out youth-led solutions – because we know the best way to reach young people is through other young people.”
If you or someone you know needs support to stop vaping, contact Quit via phone, SMS, WhatsApp, or Facebook Messenger. For more details, visit quit.org.au.