City of Greater Geelong joins Vape-Free Victoria partnership

City of Greater Geelong joins Vape-Free Victoria partnership The City of Greater Geelong has joined health promotion foundation VicHealth and more than 40 organisations across the state as part of a new $2 million initiative to empower young people to say no to vaping.

Delivered by VicHealth, Vape-Free Victoria will see 29 local councils, five universities, five sporting bodies and teams, the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, Quit Victoria and the Victorian Government work together to support young people to understand the harms of vaping.

The City has received a $200,000 VicHealth Vaping Prevention Grant, which will see it lead the Barwon South West Vaping Prevention Coalition.

The coalition is a partnership with the Barwon South West Public Health Unit, as well as local councils, health services and community organisations in the Greater Geelong, Colac Otway, Surf Coast, Corangamite, Warrnambool and Glenelg local government areas.

Activities implemented as part of the project will be co-designed with community members aged between 12 and 25, with an aim to increase young people’s awareness of the harms of vaping and their capability to reject vaping.

Member for Geelong, Christine Couzens MP, said vaping is a serious health issue, particularly with young people.

“Having members of the community aged between 12 and 25 engaged in the program design greatly increases the chances that their peers will listen to the message about vaping harm,” Ms Couzens said.

Greater Geelong Mayor Trent Sullivan said the City’s Youth Council had played a key role in opening dialogue on the topic of vaping across the region.

“We are grateful to the Victorian Government for its funding of this vital program,” Mayor Sullivan said.

“Our Youth Council has told us that vaping is a growing concern for young people in the community and it is an issue that we acknowledge needs to be addressed.”

The initiatives put in place will use best practice evidence and will be designed to achieve sustained and embedded change.

Barwon South West Public Health Unit Acting Director, Dr Akhtar Hussain, was excited about the initiative and the importance of having young people involved as part of the development of the education and support resources.

“This initiative is a great example of how stakeholders from across the Barwon South West can work together to improve the health and wellbeing of our community,” Dr Hussain said.

“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in vaping over the past few years, especially among young people. “It is really important to have young people from across our region work together to co-design the development of a program of action to support people aged 14-25 to understand the impact of vaping on their health and wellbeing.”

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.