Smoking and Vaping

We work with our community and local partners to create smoke and vape-free environments.

Key actions include:
• Reducing the uptake and harms of smoking and vaping through community-led initiatives and settings-based approaches
• Implementing policies and procedures that create smoke and vape-free environments in key public settings where people spend their time such as early childhood services, schools and health services
• Implementing statewide evidence-based programs and initiatives such as the Achievement Program and Quit Victoria resources.

Vaping Prevention in Secondary Schools

The South Coast Prevention Team support secondary schools in Bass Coast and South Gippsland shires to deliver a whole-school approach to prevent vaping.

The team support secondary schools in the South Coast through the actions outlined in the Smoke and Vape-Free Toolkit For Secondary Schools. The toolkit supports the application of a whole-school approach to prevent vaping. This includes policy review, display of ‘No Smoking or Vaping’ signs, resources for parents and carers, and vaping prevention education resources.

During Term 2 - 3 2025 the team ran the South Coast Smoke and Vape-Free School Challenge. The challenge encouraged Year 7 and 8 students to take on the role of community health researchers to create innovative and engaging campaigns that promote a smoke and vape-free future for everyone. The challanged has now closed. Schools can express their interest to participate in 2026 by contacting prevention@basscoasthealth.org.au.

Useful school resources:
• Checklist for schools
• Vaping facts resources
• Seeing Through the Haze school curriculum resources
• Smoking and vaping signage
• Talking to your teen about vaping

The Achievement Program

The Achievement Program is a health and wellbeing program that helps to create healthier environments that benefit children, educators and families. The program uses an evidence-based framework to support whole-organisation health and wellbeing approaches in early childhood services and schools.

Useful Resources and Links

• Achievement Program
• Vaping facts resources
• No smoking or vaping signs, guides and factsheets
• Quit Victoria
• Talking to your teen about vaping
• Uncloud
• Victorian Smokefree Legislation
• World No Tobacco Day

Prevention of Vaping and E-Cigarette Use in Secondary Schools Initiative (2023 - 2024)

The Prevention of Vaping and E-cigarette Use in Secondary Schools initiative was delivered between March 2023 - June 2024 to combat the rising epidemic of e-cigarette and vaping use among young people.

The initiative addressed a gap which existed at the time in school-focused resources and support to prevent vaping. It comprised of two key elements; student vaping prevention workshops and a toolkit of resources for schools to implement a whole-school approach to prevent vaping.

The student workshops focused on the marketing tactics used by e-cigarette companies to target young people, the impacts of vaping, encouraging students to develop ways to say ‘no’ if offered an e-cigarette, and raising awareness of support services to stop vaping. The toolkit supported the application of a whole-school approach to prevent vaping. This included activities such as a school policy review, updating existing ‘No Smoking’ signs to ‘No Smoking or Vaping’, vaping prevention education resources that could be used across the school curriculum and resources for parents/carers.

Ten secondary schools were approached to participate in the initiative, with six taking up the opportunity. In total, 42 vaping prevention student workshops were delivered in these schools. Evaluation data was collected from students, school staff, workshop facilitators and parents and carers. Below is a snapshot of the key evaluation findings.


The evaluation data strongly indicates the Prevention of Vaping and E-cigarette Use in Secondary Schools initiatives was a needed and successful endeavour. The initiative significantly impacted students’ perception, knowledge and behaviours towards vaping by providing a platform for discussion, engagement, and access to current information and resources.

Whilst the initiative has now ended, the team continue to support secondary schools in the South Coast through the actions outlined in the Smoke and Vape-Free Toolkit For Secondary Schools.