Albanese government praises ‘critical' program in teen vape fight
A randomised controlled trial involving some 5000 students from 40 schools found participants were 65 per cent less likely to vape after 12 months when compared to students who did not take part in the program.
The findings were published on Tuesday in the world leading health journal, The Lancet.
Health Minister Mark Butler praised the results, calling the program 'a critical part of our vaping strategy'.
'Vaping rates exploded, especially in the last five years, literally exploded year on year,' Mr Butler told reporters at Parliament House, flanked by students.
'This was sold to countries around the world as a therapeutic good that would allow hardened smokers, usually in middle age, to kick the habit if other attempts to kick smoking had not worked.
'But what we found relatively quickly was this was quite a different strategy by big tobacco.
'It was a strategy to recruit a new generation to nicotine addiction.'
He said he was 'delighted we have been able to fund' the program, run by the Our Futures Institute.
Under the program, students learn about the harms of vaping through visual stories and game-like activities, such as quizzes.
In 2019, 9.6 per cent of teens aged 14-17 were estimated to have used vapes, according to official data.
It nearly tripled to 28 per cent by 2023.
Earlier this year, the Albanese government said numbers the numbers were falling after a series of measures aimed at curbing the uptake among young Australians.
Among the measures were banning single-use vapes.
According data put out in January, vaping rates for Australian 15 and had fallen more than a third since 2023.
The data also showed the number of 'never-vapers' among 14-17-year-olds had reached a record high of 85 per cent.
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