Australia is waging a battle of the influencers to combat youth vaping. Photo credit: Kdsphotos, Pixabay.
Australia’s government launched a new campaign targeting young people aged 14-20 to combat youth vaping.
The “influencer-led youth vaping campaign” hires anti-vape influencers on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch to create and promote anti-vaping content to counter “vapefluencers”. The goal is to “combat the misinformation on social media” around vaping and “spark a conversation with the next generation of Australians about the harms of vaping and nicotine addiction”.
The participating influencers have diverse backgrounds, including sports, gaming, and comedy. They consist of individuals such as cricketer Ellyse Perry, who has 1.3 million Instagram followers, gamer Jackbuzza with 3.9 million TikTok followers, actor Ella Watkins with 2.8 million TikTok followers, and comedians the Fairbairn brothers, who have 1.7 million YouTube subscribers.
TikTok is home to more than 18 billion posts with the hashtag #vape and Instagram is home to more than 18,000 ‘vaping influencer’ profiles solely dedicated to promoting vaping.
“It’s pretty clear that teenagers don’t watch TV or listen to health ministers, much as I might like them to, which is why we’ve partnered with influencers that young people listen to: from comedians, to sport stars and gamers, and everyone in between,” said health minister Mark Butler.
He added that social media was “awash with pro-vaping content” that was “misinformation cynically promoted and stoked by the vaping and tobacco industry.”
The launch of this new youth campaign aligns with the implementation of the second phase of the government’s vape law reforms, which came into effect on March 1. These regulations include the banning of the importation of all vapes without a license and permit, the closure of the personal importation scheme for vapes, and strengthened quality and safety standards for therapeutic vapes.