Funding to help Cancer Council WA stop vaping by young people

• Cancer Council to receive $375,000 to develop pilot project to highlight impacts of e-cigarettes
• Digital campaign will combat growth in the use of e-cigarettes from people aged 14-24
• Teens and young adults will have access to resources to reduce use of e-cigarettes 

The McGowan Government, through Healthway, has provided $375,000 in funding to Cancer Council Western Australia to develop a digital education campaign highlighting the risks of using e-cigarettes.

The funding supports the implementation of a pilot project aimed at improving community awareness regarding the health impacts of e-cigarette use among 14 to 24-year-olds and will complement other State Government initiatives, such as the Do You Know What You’re Vaping? awareness campaign.

Research has found that e-cigarette use is socially acceptable among young people and is seen as more appealing than tobacco cigarettes due to the flavours and taste. 

This digital education campaign will include key information and resources about health harms, legalities, and support to quit vaping. This will be accessible through an online hub and is in addition to the more than $2.4 million in funding provided to deliver the Make Smoking History campaign over the next three years.

Once established, the online hub will be shared across a range of social media platforms, targeting teenagers and young adults.

A coalition, which will be led by Healthway and include other relevant State Government departments and health agencies, will be formed to ensure combined efforts towards reducing e-cigarette use is achieved.

As stated by Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson:

“This funding is the latest step in the State Government’s fight to help protect our young people from the dangers of vaping.

“Not only is vaping harmful, it often contains harmful substances found in cleaning products, weed killer, nail polish remover and bug spray.

“Emerging research has found that non-smokers who use e-cigarettes are three times more likely to go on to smoke tobacco cigarettes.

“This important campaign will complement our other initiatives including the WA Schools Anti-Vaping Toolkit.”