New Vaping Education Resources for Victorian Primary Schools
In a pioneering move, educators of fifth and sixth-grade students in primary schools will now have access to a range of curriculum-aligned resources on vaping education. The objective is to educate young individuals on the dangers of vaping and foster healthier communities.
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According to the 2022-23 ASSAD survey, 13% of students aged 12-15 reported vaping in the past month, underscoring the need for early preventative education.
These free, evidence-based vaping education resources have been developed for schools by Quit Victoria, Monash University, VicHealth, the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER) Victoria, and Independent Schools Victoria.
The latest materials, titled “Seeing Through the Haze,” are designed specifically for late primary-years students. They build upon the success of the vaping education resources for years 7-10, which were released in early 2024 and have since been widely downloaded.
Quit director Rachael Andersen stated that these new resources aim to equip younger students with critical thinking skills as they approach early secondary school years, a period when vaping is more likely to start, independence from parents increases, and peer pressure often intensifies.
Andersen said, “Our hope is to prevent nicotine addiction in children by giving them the knowledge on why and how to say no to vaping. Beginning this type of preventative education in primary school is crucial at a time when kids are curious and starting to be more heavily influenced by social media messages.”
Michelle Murray, VicHealth executive manager health promotion systems, believes that these new primary school resources will play a crucial role in reducing and preventing vaping harm among young people.
Murray said, “Public health efforts to reduce tobacco use and nicotine addiction have been enormously successful but there’s always more to do with novel products like vapes looking for new ways to addict younger people. That’s why it’s so important to help young people understand the serious impacts of these products.”
The resources are divided into several modules, each consisting of activities to help students understand the facts about vaping, how social factors contribute to vaping, and how to develop vaping education campaigns for change. They also guide students on how to investigate cessation support services, fostering important health-seeking behaviors.
