2024 World No Tobacco Day: if you smoke or vape, know the facts and quit
Friday 31 May was 2024 World No Tobacco Day, and we want to encourage anyone in the Deakin community who lights up – either regularly or occasionally – to quit for good. The health and wellbeing of our students is of the utmost importance to us and it’s also a crucial foundation of your study success.
It’s well established that the nicotine in tobacco products is highly addictive and bad for your health. Smoking tobacco is strongly linked to an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, cancer and various other chronic and life-threatening illnesses. While it’s a great sign to see a global decline in the popularity of tobacco among young people today, a worrying trend is the rise of young people using vaping products – that is, inhaling toxic chemicals (often including nicotine) through an electronic device or ‘e-cigarette’.
Vaping is a major health issue that we can’t ignore. Did you know 21.7% of people aged 18–24 have used e-cigarettes at least once? It’s also concerning that it’s not just existing smokers taking up vaping habits either. A 2022 study suggested 77,000 young Victorians – a quarter of those who overall reported vaping – had never smoked before. And, unfortunately, 58% of those who used e-cigarettes reported they usually vaped nicotine. Far from being a safer alternative to smoking tobacco, vaping is extremely addictive and exposes users to a poisonous cocktail of chemicals. Scary stuff.
Why is vaping so dangerous?
E-cigarettes are just as addictive and dangerous as traditional tobacco products for several reasons.
- Nicotine addiction can control you. Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, even if they don’t say so on the label. Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs we know of. It can harm the way your brain develops. Nicotine addiction can happen very quickly, especially in young people. Becoming addicted to nicotine can change the way you think, feel and act, and create challenges in relationships, study or work commitments.
- Vaping products are intentionally designed and marketed to keep you hooked. In conjunction with the addition of nicotine, vape products are laced with alluring flavours and widely promoted on social media by the industry and influencers.
Vaping products contain harmful chemicals. Vape products contain a potent mix of toxic chemicals and heavy metals known to be harmful to human health, including the same substances found in paint thinner, biofuels and insect sprays. These chemicals include known causes of cancer, heart disease and lung disease. Vaping products have also been known to explode and cause burn injuries to users for this very reason.- Vaping products are highly wasteful and harm our environment. Because they contain metals and other dangerous synthetic materials, and due to their plastic composition, the production and disposal of vape devices has a highly pollutive effect on the environment.
Are you struggling with a vaping or smoking habit?
You’re not alone! We know just how addictive smoking and vaping can be, with evidence even suggesting young people are more susceptible to nicotine addiction than older people. While it can be a tough habit to break, especially if your friends smoke or vape, it’s better to quit now and spare yourself problems with addiction and ill health later down the track.Amazingly, your body actually reverses some of the damage caused by smoking as soon as you stop. This happens as soon as 20 minutes after your last cigarette, when your blood pressure and pulse start to return to more normal levels.
Ready to quit? We can help!
While we understand quitting isn’t an easy process, the Deakin community (including our wonderful Wellbeing Ambassadors), is with you every step of the way.
To start your smoke- or vape-free journey, contact the Deakin Medical Centre. We provide free Quit counselling support, so book an appointment now. According to WHO, your chance of quitting successfully increases by a whopping 84% if you receive professional medical advice.
Contact Quitline
As well as helping people to quit smoking, Quitline can help you to stop vaping. When you call Quitline, you speak confidentially with a qualified counsellor who can answer your questions without judgement, and support you on how you would like to quit. They’ll be there for you when you need them, at any stage of your quitting journey. Even if it takes a few attempts to stay quit.
Visit the Quit website for amazing resources which provide personalised support for your quitting journey, including the vapingfacts.org.au website and the ‘See through the haze’ campaign which will help you learn more about the dangers of e-cigarettes.
Remember: there’s no smoking or vaping at Deakin
Deakin says ‘no’ to smoking – this includes our grounds, buildings and carparks, and extends to electronic cigarettes. This is to keep our community healthy and ensure a clean and enjoyable campus experience.
It’s not just Deakin taking this stance – all Victorian universities have similar policies. So if you see someone vaping or smoking on campus, politely ask them to stop or butt out!
Find out more about Deakin’s policy regarding no smoking or vaping on campus via the World No Tobacco Day webpage.
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