No Tobacco Day
On Wednesday 31st of May it will be World No Tobacco Day. This is a global day to share information about smoking and vaping, including facts and support services.
“In the past three years, an astonishing 77,200 Victorian adults took up vaping who’d previously never smoked, tripling their risk of taking up smoking. The number of people vaping overall more than doubled with young people the most likely to be using e-cigarettes” Quit Director, Matthew Scanlon
Bellarine Community Health is working towards creating a smoke and vape free Bellarine Peninsula, it is part of our Live Well Bellarine Health Promotion plan.
At BCH we are changing our smoke free signage and policies to include vaping and providing the facts to our community about vaping, including local support services. We are also working with local schools on the Bellarine Peninsula to support them with their vaping concerns by taking a whole school approach. Some examples include information for newsletters and websites, promotion of local support services, signage changes, school policy updates and giving them the most up-to-date information.
“In light of the Federal Government recently sharing its plan to control e-cigarettes in Australia, it is now more important than ever for health promotion teams to work on the ground with their communities to tackle this issue from the bottom up.” Said Lauren Purser, Healthy Communities Planner. “We are hoping to use World No Tobacco Day to shine a spotlight on the dangers of vaping and where to gain support to quit.”
This May, with other partners across the region we will be promoting ‘Give Smoking and Vaping Away’.
Locally, BCH youth services work with people aged 12-25 who need vaping and smoking support, Barwon Health has a Be Smoke Free Clinic in Newcomb which can support people of all ages to quit smoking and vaping, QUIT Victoria has support services by online chat, SMS or phone. You can find more information about QUIT Victoria HERE.
If you would like further information about vaping and smoking, the Healthy Connected Communities Team can help. Click HERE.
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