Last week, the federal government announced the plan implement an anti-vaping program in schools across the country.
Educational program, the so-called Our futuregoals to forestall young people from taking over vaping. It was developed by experts from the University of Sydney’s Matilda Center for Mental Health and Substance Use Research, with input from teachers and young people.
So why do we want this program, what’s going to it involve and can or not it’s an efficient technique to stop young people from vaping? Let’s take a closer look.
Vaping is becoming increasingly popular
AND study of Australian secondary school students in 2022–2023 showed that just about one in three people admitted that they had tried vaping, while one in six had vaped in the previous month.
This represents a significant increase over time, with rates of each lifetime vaping and last month vaping greater than doubling since 2017.
However, since this data was collected, new laws to manage the supply of and access to vaporizers, with the goal of reducing the prevalence of vaping.
Growing evidence points to the harmful effects of vaping. AND Review 2022 found that vaping has been linked to a range of negative health effects, including poisoning, addiction, burns to the face, hands and thighs, lung damage and an increased likelihood of beginning to smoke tobacco.
It has been found that vaporizers, i.e. e-cigarettes, contain many known chemicals cause cancerincluding formaldehyde, acetone and heavy metals equivalent to nickel and lead. This means young vapers are inhaling chemicals found in nail polish remover, plastics, weed killers and industrial glues.
While we do not yet understand the long-term health effects of vaping, the evidence we have now to date shows that it’s vital to stop as many individuals as possible from taking over the habit.
What will the program involve?
OurFutures is designed for youngsters ages 7 and eight based on research findings. Students are guided by them 4 online lessonseach using a variety of activities and resources to coach them about the harms of vaping. Lessons also include information on the impact of social media, assertive communication, and the way and where to hunt help.
The government says the program will have the opportunity to succeed in over 3,000 schools throughout Australia.
Our research and this shows others that it is so optimal age reach young people because this is the time once they start experimenting and reach for a vaporizer.
This program is also extremely timely as young people they told us want vaping prevention messages in their schools to assist them make informed decisions. These young people realize that there is a lack of reliable information.
Similarly, school staff (equivalent to principals and teachers) admit they’re unable to take care of the problem of vaping amongst students aloneand called for support.
Ruslan Alekso/Pexels
OurFutures is currently in a trial phase 40 schools in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.
Preliminary results were positive. Immediately after completing the program, students learned more about the harms of vaping and reported a reduced desire to vape.
However, to our knowledge, the full results of the study haven’t yet been published. It is also unclear whether these results will likely be maintained in the long run.
AND review of school vaping prevention programs found that although many interventions improved knowledge, attitudes, and intentions about vaping in the short term, these effects weren’t at all times maintained.
However, this review also found that multi-session programs, equivalent to OurFutures, were effective in stopping young people from vaping for long periods of time.
An essential element of any public health program is its adaptability to different populations. Australia is a culturally and linguistically diverse country, with urban, regional and distant populations. It is currently unclear whether and the way the program will take these differences into consideration.
The program must be part of a broader approach
Providing rational, evidence-based information in this fashion should help many young people taking part in this program higher understand the potential health risks of vaping and subsequently think twice before doing so.
However, school-based education programs are only one strategy in a set of strategies needed to deal with youth vaping. Relying solely on young people to vary their behavior is unrealistic and never best practice.
Young people operate in communities which might be influenced by family, social norms and social structures. Education is great, but we want to stop exposure to and access to those harmful products.
Fortunately, Australia’s crackdown on vaping is world-leading. Welcome recently announced vaping reformsincluding stopping the import of vaporizers, selling them only behind pharmacy counters, and limiting flavors that limit their availability and attractiveness to students.
Since these vape laws were introduced, the Australian Border Force has ceased operating a whole bunch of 1000’s vapes coming to Australia.
Recent Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act 2023 also limits promoting and promotion of vaporizers, including on social media. This signifies that the same bans that apply to tobacco promoting now also apply to vaporizers.
Our research shows that vaping was present widely promoted to young people on social media. Social media firms must be certain that the health of their users comes before business interests.
Only last week the government demanded a “digital duty of care” that will require social media firms to take steps to create a safer online environment for all Australians.
Ultimately, a national vaping prevention program for Australian students is a positive step. However, these should be complemented by a range of strategies and continued government investment to support young people to avoid or stop vaping.