Vaping toolkit

Local Drug Action Teams help prevent vaping among young people using programs, activities and messages that are based on evidence of what works and designed and delivered by communities.

Community-based approaches

Vaping prevention is relatively new, so there is limited evidence of thoroughly evaluated community programs. But communities can still help prevent or reduce vaping among young people. They can:

• improve parents’ knowledge and confidence to talk with their children about vaping, through workshops and resources such as Talk About It
• raise parents’ awareness of ways to lower the risk of their children vaping, through workshops and information sessions
• use education campaigns such as UNCLOUD to improve young people’s knowledge of the chemicals in vapes and the risks and health effects of vaping.

What helps prevent vaping

Messages work best when they show that most young people choose not to vape, give clear facts about health effects without exaggerating, and use understanding language rather than shame. Young people respond to bright, positive messages that are designed and tested with them. Parents can help by being involved in their children’s lives, setting clear rules about vaping at home, and talking about vaping messages when they come up online.

School-based approaches

Community-based approaches don’t include activities in schools. School-based vaping prevention can draw on:

• the Alcohol and other drug education in schools toolkit
• the OurFutures vaping prevention program.

Resources for parents and carers

• Talking with young people about vaping: a guide for parents (VicHealth)
• Youth vaping conversation guide, in community languages (Health Translations)

Where it fits in the LDAT program

Local Drug Action Teams use this toolkit as part of their Community Action Plan (CAP), often alongside the Parenting and Supporting teenagers toolkits.

How Local Drug Action Teams are responding to vaping

• Alexandrina Youth Hub: a youth hub and school AOD education, set up in response to rising vaping among young people
• Glow Up Central Goldfields: vaping resources in Karen for a culturally and linguistically diverse community
• Norfolk Island: student wellbeing projects that include vaping

The full toolkit gives Local Drug Action Teams practical guidance, including:

• guiding principles for vaping campaigns, key messages for young people, and working with parents and carers
• lessons from community efforts to prevent youth smoking
• considerations for planning and delivery, including who to target, how to deliver messages, partners and resources
• key activities and measuring success
• key steps, from finding partners to running workshops and sharing quality vaping resources.

If you’re part of a Local Drug Action Team, you can use the full toolkit on the LDAT platform.

Last reviewed: 4 November 2026