Influencer and media partnership content

Check out content produced by our partners for the Youth Vaping Education Campaign.

Influencer videos

Lottie Dalziel on what’s really in a vape

01:27

[Vapes, mods, Juuls, e-cigarettes - they're all terrible for your health and for the planet. But have you ever considered what's actually inside your vape? Because I'll give you a hint, it's not all watermelon and strawberries.
 

Vapes are a chemical cocktail. The e-liquid alone can contain over 200 unique chemicals. Things like chlorine that's found in pool cleaners. Acrolene which is found in weed killer. Formaldehyde, which is found in cleaning products and some disinfectants. Arsenic, which is used in poisons. Benzene, which you'll see in bug spray.

Mercury, which is the metal found in batteries. And then why not add in some extra flammable lithium batteries? Don't forget the metal or plastic casings. And what about the plastic mouthpiece? And then to top it all off, why not add some extra wires on top for a bit of decorative spice? Mix it all together and you really wouldn't really want to drink that.
 

When vapes are littered or go into landfill, they contaminate the environment with all of these poisons. This waste takes centuries to break down. Heaps of people have already quit vapes and you can too. There are a range of supports out there so that you can quit vaping for good.]

Media partnership content

Calvin's Beep Test Fitness Challenge – In partnership with LADbible

03:57

So nervous. This brings me back to high school.

My name is Calvin, and I'm 24. I've been vaping for three years. Today I'm here to do the beep test to see what my fitness levels are like right now on the vapes. And in a few weeks, we'll do the beep test again to see what my fitness level is like off the vapes.

I would say vaping started off as social, but now it's pretty much become an everyday occurrence, and I feel like I'm a bit of a slave to vaping now.

Okay, you missed it.

All right, that's it.

I know that if I have one on me at home, it'll be the first thing I do in the morning.

As a person that's into fitness and routine is quite depressing.

How do you feel you went?

Ahh, not well. I hope giving up the vapes will give me a better internal health. I hope that, my cardio improves, and my lungs. I feel right now they're working overdrive, and they're not, they're not, ahh functioning as well as they should.

And, you're also going to be seeing a doctor.

I'm doctor Hester Wilson. What can I do for you today?

I'm quitting vaping.

Great!

Yeah, I've been vaping for three, four years now and I want to kick the habit.

For me, as a health professional, I'm really concerned about young people's health. So I want to give you credible, evidence based information so that you can make the right choices for you. What about it don't you like?

Well, I find fitness very important, and it's kind of ironic that I spend so much time working out, but I'm not doing anything for my internal health.

If you continue to vape, it becomes harder to exercise and maintain your fitness.

When you stop vaping, you may notice withdrawal symptoms. Everybody's different, and experience them in different ways, but it can be things like headache, irritability, sleeplessness, upset, or grumpy. It doesn't last. It lasts, you know, 3 to 4 days and then it passes.

Just remember, every time you don't have a vape, you're getting much closer to being a non-vaper. There are lots of supports you can access to help you on your quick journey. Family and friends of course. There's the My Quit Buddy app. And there's lots of supports online as well. You reckon you ready to start now?

More than ready. Super ready. Yeah. Excited.

What I did was I threw out my vape and I replaced it with other distractions. So now when I go to the office or going around, I carry a water bottle, which has really helped. And it's kind of been a great distraction. I've also started chewing a lot more gum and having snacks around. Tonight was the first night I went to the pub with some mates and a few of them had some vapes. It was pretty hard to turn down. But when I did, I felt pretty good about myself and just focused on having a good time.

I've actually found it's getting easier to fall asleep. Am I breathing feels much easier when I run. I can't wait to see how much improvement there is when I step back up for the beep test!

Here we are again!

How you feeling?

Nervous!

Very.

Let’s go Calvin!!

Level 7, let’s go Calvin!

Oh, mate, well done!

You don't seem anywhere near as out of breath.

I am surprised at the difference it makes not having vaped for a few weeks now. I mean, jumping up two whole levels in the beep test. If that's not proof enough then I don't know what it is. I'm really grateful for this experience, and I fully recommend that everyone get off the vapes. Day to day, I feel better and doing fitness things like this. It’s so noticeable, so I can't recommend it enough. If you care about your fitness. You gotta drop the vapes and you'll see the improvements.

Well done mate!

Yay Calvin!

For more tips on how to quit head to health.gov.au/vaping.

Former vapers and non-vapers – In partnership with LADbible

01:05

I've never vaped, but I'm already unfit, I don't need another reason to make me more unfit.

We've come down to the park to ask some lads what they think about vaping.

Are you a vaper?

Not anymore, not anymore, not anymore.

Have you ever vaped?

I have not.

Do you feel like you have noticed differences in your day-to-day life without vaping?

I can breathe fine, I can like run.

How do you feel about the long-term effects of vaping?

I don't think anyone knows the long-term effects.

Super scary.

We don't know some of the stuff that's in vapes, there's that kind of risk there.

So many people do it, but they don't know five years from now what's going to happen to them.

I don't want to be vaping when we find out.

It must be a hard thing to go through to get off vaping, because nicotine is so addictive.

It's just like they cloud it with all those, like, delicious flavours. It's like your dessert, and I think that's where I got addicted to it.

Just because it tastes good doesn't mean it is good.

Could you describe being vape free in three words?

Normal to me. Oh, that's three words.

Yeah, perfect.

Life's still so fun without a vape.

You have to cut that out.

Love that.

For more tips on how to quit, head to health.gov.au/vaping.

Clear the Air – In partnership with LADbible

3:07

So, a lot of the time I was vaping because I was stressed.

Did you get any like, headaches, jitters, shakes or anything like that when you tried to stop?

I felt like I got a lot of headaches. Like that was really tough.

My name's Tom. I'm 26 and I have never vaped.

Kye, I'm also 26. I'm a full-time vaper.

Oh, Alyssa, I'm 23 and I don't vape anymore.

When did you start vaping and why?

Probably at least like four years ago I reckon now.

Started just because, like, it was there.

Every pub you went to, every place you went one of the boys whipped it out. You’re like “Yeah I’ll try that”.

And then all of a sudden, it wasn't just on the weekends. There'd be one of my pocket, on the way to work, next to my bed, before I went to sleep, when I woke up. It was just there.

So, I went to film school, and I feel like everyone smokes at film school. Vaping became really big around that time as well, when I was going to uni.

I used to, smoke cigarettes all the time, and then I moved on to vaping. Being like “yeah, I'm quitting”. But it wasn't. It was not quitting.

So, when did you stop then?

Probably about a year ago, or two maybe. I start to notice I was getting really sick all the time. I had like a cough for like a solid, like a year. And then I was like, “nah, this is getting a problem”. Like, “I literally can't breathe” before the call for the way I quit.

Did you find the cough went away pretty quick?

Yeah, it did! It left!

Did you find it hard to stop?

It was hard to stop when you'd go out to parties and whatnot. And everyone has a vape. There would always be someone with nicotine on them.

And I also started to notice, when and why I was vaping as well. So, a lot of the time I was vaping because I was stressed. Having this device, trying to be like, “this is a physical thing”

“This is what's going to calm you down”. You know what I mean?

Yeah.

After I quit, I was like, every time I was stressed, I was like, I was like, looking for something to suck on.

I started on nicotine gum. That's kind of what I was using. But obviously take that in small dosages, or like, as you should, because it is still nicotine.

Did you get any like headaches, jitters, shakes or anything like that when you tried to stop?

I felt like I got a lot of headaches. Like that was really tough.

One of my main concerns is in 40 years, what kind of the long-term outcomes will be?

I play a lot of sport. And then even, like walking on the golf course, I sit there and, have a puff and I notice I’m blowing out a bit more. And you see kids in school uniforms, waiting for the bus, puffing on vapes. It's pretty bad.

My friends who don't smoke, who have then taken up vaping. Instead of side stepping from smoking to vaping, they have just taken it up, when they didn't smoke in the first place.

It's gets too accessible.

Jumping from a cigarette to like, a vape is one thing, but just go straight to vaping. It's just like a bit hardcore.

Yeah.

So Kye you mentioned that you've attempted to quit a few times. Anything that you found was helpful in that time?

Yeah. That my quit buddy app, that was pretty good. I’d go through put in things and that. It sends me a couple little reminders. Makes me feel good. And then when you sit there and go “Oh shit I actually did have a vape”. The you’ve got to re-set and it’s like, disappointed in you.

Where I see vaping in the future, and I think it is slowly dying down. Hopefully it does kind of nosedive in the next few years or so.

For more tips on how to quit, head to health.gov.au/vaping

Former vapers – In partnership with LADbible

00:55

We've come down to the park to chat to some former vapers to get some tips on how to quit.

What was it that made you quit vaping?

The obvious fact that the nicotine is in there.

You have no idea what you're actually taking in.

What was the experience like for you quitting vaping?

It was pretty tough, I'm not going to lie.

Especially when, like, everyone around you vapes and it's just so like, natural to like, our everyday routine.

Did you use any devices to kind of help you quit?

I did try the toothpick method, but that didn't really work.

Definitely one thing I used was, like, gum.

Found gum actually did.

Yeah, I'm literally chewing right now.

Obnoxiously chewing.

I like to meditate, and I found that really helpful.

What advice would you give to someone who's thinking about quitting?

Oh, do it. Even if you keep failing, just try again.

I'm not going to sugarcoat it and say that it's going to be easy, but yeah, I think it's it is worth it.

For more tips on how to quit, head to health.gov.au/vaping.

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