Vape-free Deakin: congrats to our design competition winners!
Deakin is a smoke- and vape-free zone, which includes our campus grounds, buildings and carparks. Our policy – similar to those in place across all Victorian universities – is to keep our community healthy and ensure a clean and enjoyable campus experience for all.
While it’s well established that smoking is terrible for your health (and it’s great 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. Far from being a safer alternative to smoking tobacco, vaping is extremely addictive and exposes users to a poisonous cocktail of chemicals. We need to spread the word to young people that vaping is not something you want to get caught up in.
Thank you for sharing your vape-free designs with us!
We recently put out the call for Deakin students to submit your own interpretation of vape-free living. This was part of a Inter-University Competition, supported by VicHealth’s Collective Impact Approach to Vaping.
Deakin – along with Monash University, Swinburne University and The University of Melbourne – each invited their currently enrolled students to create a poster, sign or video containing a slogan that addresses vaping among university students. We were looking for outstanding designs aimed at reducing and/or preventing the uptake of vaping among young people and elevating student voices on this topic.
Thank you to all students who took part in the challenge – we hope you enjoyed stretching your imagination and delving into this important topic! After careful consideration, our two winning designs have been chosen by the judging panel, and we congratulate the winners Isabella Parker and Muhammad Bilal!
Isabella Parker – I can stop anytime
Isabella: ‘This painting is designed to confront regular vape users. The cracks in the wall lead toward the hooded boy, symbolising how vaping gradually deteriorates his wellbeing, with damage spreading from his surroundings into his body.
The graffiti-style text, “I CAN STOP ANYTIME” captures his denial, self-destruction and the rebellious attitude often seen in youth.
White text around his decaying lungs challenges him and the viewer to consider: “if you can stop vaping, why haven’t you already?” The vape cloud obscures warning signs, reflecting ignorance of the risks of vaping, while a teardrop showcases a loss of identity and emotional wellbeing.’
Muhammad Bilal – Vape-free Deakin (video promo)
Muhammad: ‘This video explores the dangerous allure of vaping, drawing parallels between addiction and an unhealthy emotional bond.
What starts as harmless curiosity can spiral into dependence, warning that even one hit can lead to devastating consequences.
Through powerful visuals, it illustrates the physical and psychological grip that vaping can have on individuals, emphasising the struggle to break free from addiction. It also highlights the permanent damage vaping causes to the lungs and overall wellbeing. By framing vaping as a toxic relationship, this video relates to the youth, fostering empathy and urging friends to step in, offer support and encourage seeking help before it’s too late.
These winning Deakin entries will now be submitted to the Inter-University Competition, along with the two winning designs from Monash University, Swinburne University, and The University of Melbourne. The top three winning designs from this pool will be selected by a judging panel from the Australian Health Promotion Association. We wish Isabella and Muhammad all the very best!
We say ‘no’ to smoking and vaping
In line with Deakin’s Student Health Promotion Plan 2023–2025, we are passionate about protecting the health and wellbeing of all our students.
To keep spreading awareness about the potential harms of smoking and vaping, and highlight our Smoking, Vaping and Tobacco Free policy, you may have noticed new ‘No smoking or vaping on campus’ signage (pictured above) on your way to class. So, if you see someone vaping or smoking on campus, politely ask them to stop or butt out!
For more information about the dangers of vaping and resources to help you quit, visit our Vape-free Deakin webpage – remember you are not alone!
You must be logged in to post a comment.