Vaping education and resources

Information for young people

Seeing your friends or someone you look up to vape can sometimes make you feel like you might want to try it too. It’s really important to understand the risks around vaping and what it can mean for your future. Saying no might feel awkward or hard, but your health is what matters most. It’s your body, your lungs and your life.

This information will give you the facts about vapes so you can stay safe and make good choices for your health.

Unveil what you inhale

Want to learn the truth about vaping? These fact sheets, made with young Australians for young Australians, cover the real facts, the risks and what the law says about vaping. It’s all here, so you can make your own informed choices about your health.

Fact sheets about vaping:

Vaping eLearning

If you want to learn even more about vaping, our short interactive learning module can help you explore what we know and don’t know about vapes. It’s quick and easy to do! Many people don’t know about the risks. Our eLearning module can help you make more informed choices for your health and wellbeing. 

After completing this module, you’ll be able to:

• Explain what vapes are and how they work
• Identify harmful things found in vapes
• Describe how vaping can harm your health
• Show different ways to deal with pressure from friends to vape. 

This eLearning module is supported by the Youth Health Forum of CHF.

Information for parents and carers

Vaping has increased among teenagers in Australia. Vapes can come in many shapes and forms and are often designed to appeal to young people.

We’re still learning about the long-term health effects of vaping. However, we do know that vapes contain harmful chemicals, including nicotine, which is very addictive. Talking to teenagers about the downsides of vaping can be challenging. To help you navigate this, we’ve included our advice on how to have that conversation.

It’s important to understand that vapes are sometimes incorrectly positioned as a “safer” option than cigarettes. You can learn more about different types of vapes with our fact sheet.

What you need to know

• We don’t yet know all the long-term health effects of vaping.
  We do know that in the short term, it can cause people to feel sick, have a sore throat, experience chest pain, and have a faster heartbeat. Experts are concerned that vapes could cause lung diseases and cancer, similar to cigarettes.
• Vapes in Australia are not checked as carefully as they should be.
  This means we don’t always know exactly what’s inside them. Research has found toxic chemicals like formaldehyde and nicotine in vapes.
• Vaping can lead to smoking.
  Young people can become addicted to nicotine through vaping without realising it. This addiction can lead them to try cigarettes, which can cause serious health problems like strokes, heart attacks and cancer.

Other links and resources:

• Talking to your kids about vaping
• Vaping and mental health fact sheet for parents and carers
• Vaping and young people resource pack

Information for teachers and educators 

Vaping has increased among teenagers in Australia. While we’re still learning about the long-term health effects, we know that vapes are unsafe and contain addictive chemicals that can harm developing bodies. It’s important to know how to talk to young people about vaping.

Free resource pack for teachers

Our free resource pack for educators can help you understand the facts about vaping so you can inform and protect the young people under your care.

It includes:

• Why young people might start vaping
• The different types of vapes available
• Common misunderstandings about vapes
• Tips on how to talk to young people about vaping
• Social media tiles to help with promotion.

Information for healthcare professionals 

Useful links for health professionals

• This vaping webinar discusses emerging evidence, trends, guidelines and research, with practical advice for best-practice cessation support in the community, including support pathways and resources.
• PSA guidelines and advice for pharmacists on how to help people quit smoking. 
• RACGP guidance for health professionals and doctors on how to help people quit smoking and vaping.

These resources are supported by: Unveil What You Inhale Resources