Federal Funding Announced for Vaping Prevention Program

The Federal Government will fund a national program to prevent young people from taking up vaping. The OurFutures Vaping program for Year 7 and 8 students will be available to reach more than 3,000 schools.

Announcing funding for the roll-out yesterday at Cannon Hill Anglican College, Brisbane, Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said: “Vaping is a modern problem, and we need modern and innovative solutions if we are to avoid another generation of people becoming addicted to nicotine.

“Resources like the OurFutures vaping program are important - equipping teachers with the tools they need to help to educate young people about the dangers of vaping.”

Vaping is endemic in Australian schools and has become the number one behavioural issue for many students. Data shows one in six high school students have vaped recently, while 12-year-olds who had vaped are 29 times more likely to go on to try smoking than 12-year-olds who had not vaped.

The program, based on the OurFutures prevention model, uses a comprehensive harm-minimisation and social influence approach to cut through misinformation and empower young people to avoid vaping.

A current trial of the OurFutures Vaping program - developed and delivered by the University of Sydney’s Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use - is proving to be successful.

Led by Prof Nicola Newton, Dr Lauren Gardner and Assoc Prof Emily Stockings, this is the first clinical trial of an online vaping prevention program in Australia.

Initial results with over 5,000 students in NSW, Qld, and WA showed that immediately after receiving the program, students had significantly reduced intentions to vape, as well as improved knowledge about the harms and risks associated with vaping.

Over eight in 10 students said the skills and information they learned would help them deal more effectively with vaping situations in the future.

Data from the trial has also revealed a clear association between poor mental health and vaping, with those experiencing severe depressive symptoms and/or high levels of stress being more than twice as likely to have vaped.

The OurFutures expansion comes as the Government vaping reforms cut off the pipeline of vapes being sold to young people. Therapeutic vapes are now behind the pharmacy counter, rather than stocked at corner stores and vape shops.

Schools can register their interest in the Vaping Prevention Program at OurFutures vaping program.