New Quit vaping campaign launches to remind Victorians of health harms
Posted 5 June, 2026
Quit this week launched a powerful new campaign to highlight the real-life vaping harms experienced by young people.
The campaign – Every Vape is a Hit to Your Health – launches after a review led by the University of New South Wales that found nicotine vaping is likely to cause lung and oral cancer.
Quit Director, Rachael Andersen, said highlighting the health harms of vaping through the Every Vape campaign is designed to spark motivation to quit, however she cautions that awareness and education alone are not enough while illicit vaping products remain readily available.
“Ensuring vapes are not in convenience stores, sold near schools and in high st shops, will also help reduce the appeal of these products to young people
“We’ve long held concerns about the gateway effect of vaping to smoking. And now research shows that vaping likely causes cancer and is harmful in its own right.
“Strengthened enforcement powers for Victorian licence inspectors would enable them to seize illegal vaping products and shut down shops found selling vapes.
“We know that most people who vape or smoke want to quit. And we have a responsibility to assist them on this mission and by restricting the illegal vaping industry’s ability to addict a new generation of people to nicotine, and through campaigns like ours” Ms Andersen concluded.
Every Vape focuses on real stories of people who’ve experienced serious health harms because of vaping – including chest pain, severe migraines, hospitalisation, breathing difficulties, and nicotine addiction.
One of those stories is Clarissa’s. She knows all too well how vaping consumed her every waking thought.
“I couldn’t go to the movies and concentrate because I was having nicotine withdrawals every 30 minutes. Then I had a health scare. And I thought to myself: “If not now [with quitting], then when?”.
“In the years that I vaped I felt lethargic and unfit. I struggled to walk up a flight of stairs without getting puffed. So while quitting vaping was so hard, I never want to have to do it again. And that’s what motivates me to stay away from vaping and spread the word to others.”
Every Vape is a Hit to Your Health highlights the negative and sometimes ongoing health impacts of non-therapeutic vaping. These experiences reflect a broader public health concern about the continued normalisation of vaping, particularly among young people.
The campaign will run across digital, social and community channels encouraging people, especially those aged 18-39, to contact quit.org.au or call 13 7848 for support. To view the campaign, check out the 30 second video.
ENDS
LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT
Currently, vapes can only be legally sold by pharmacies for smoking cessation after a consultation with a pharmacist. Federal laws were passed in 2024 banning the sale of all non-therapeutic vapes nationally.
Vapes sold outside a pharmacy environment are illegal. However, under Victoria’s current licensing scheme, licence inspectors lack the practical authority to seize illicit vaping products if found.
Despite recent news about proposed new Victorian laws to enable inspectors to shut tobacco retailers found doing wrong thing, these laws will not extend to include non-compliant retailers found selling vapes.