FOR RANGATAHI, BY RANGATAHI: YOUTH LED PROJECT INFORMS CAMPAIGN TO ADDRESS YOUTH VAPING

Protect Your Breath - the first phase of a campaign to reduce youth vaping harm - has launched in Aotearoa today. Aiming to empower rangatahi to make critical decisions about vaping, it is the result of a year-long co-design project and new research that surfaced critical insights to inform the campaign’s design.

Led by social change and creative agency Curative, Protect Your Breath has been developed with the Hā Collective – a crew of Māori and Pacific young people aged 16-20 – together with a steering group of experts, and funded by Te Whatu Ora.

Aotearoa has seen an increase in vaping by rangatahi in recent years – the percentage of young people vaping daily has more than tripled between 2019 and 2021*. Over the same period, daily smoking rates have decreased significantly*.

Why are more young people vaping? What role does vaping play in their lives, school communities, and homes? And how might we interrupt current attitudes and behaviours towards vaping in Aotearoa?

The Hā Collective went out into their communities and talked with young people and their whānau. Through hui and interviews the Hā Collective worked to uncover the relationship young people and their communities have with vaping, and explore creative ways to support young people to think critically about their use of vaping products.

In response to the Hā Collective findings, the campaign commences with targeted digital advertising, and will evolve over the next two years to further health messages, activate senses, provoke conversations, and encourage young people to consider the impact of vaping on themselves and their communities.

Curative Managing Director Eddy Royal says, “We are passionate about getting this right for our rangatahi and it's only through this process of listening to them and being driven by their ideas and experiences, that we believe we can start to change the narrative around youth vaping.”

Rangatahi and health experts involved in this campaign are now available for interview to talk about their work in this space.

View some of the Protect Your Breath campaign here.


Background

Co-Design and New Research

Alongside the insights gathered by the Hā Collective, interviews with experts were conducted, and alongside research agency Cogo, an anonymous school survey. Completed earlier this year, the survey asked students about their environment – what was causing them stress, how they coped with that stress and who they turned to for advice or influence. The survey also asked them about their vaping habits, attitudes towards vaping and how they felt the media, advertisers and parents had handled talking to them about the issue.

The expert interviews, school survey, and youth-led insight gathering processes surfaced six critical insights:

  1. Vaping serves as a coping mechanism for some young people

  2. Reactions to vaping can impact the way young people see themselves and their future

  3. Vapes are easily accessible and often shared among friends

  4. Vaping could be ‘just a phase’ for some young people

  5. Young people want to make informed decisions

  6. Rangatahi don’t like the idea of non-vapers starting to vape

More information on these insights and the link to download the full report can be found at protectyourbreath.co.nz. This website provides background information about the development of the campaign and links to further advice and services, for adults who want to support young people in making thoughtful decisions about vaping.


Protect Your Breath Development

The insights gathered through the Hā Collective and the schools survey highlighted that a campaign seeking to reduce vaping harm amongst young people must do three things:

  1. Encourage young people to reflect on their values, culture, strengths, goals, and aspirations. This can help them build confidence in the choices they make;

  2. Provide useful, non-judgmental information to young people and their communities about the impact vaping can have – in order to support critical decision making; and

  3. Illustrate the role that whānau and community play in the decisions that young people make and how they feel about themselves.

The Hā Collective feedback also made it clear that rangatahi are media savvy and quick to dismiss content that doesn’t feel like it’s authentically ‘them’.

With their guidance, the broader campaign avoids judgement and scare tactics; celebrates the things young people care about, their identities, and their language; and delivers easy-to-find, easy-to-share snackable health messaging in the places they already spend their time.

*ASH Year 10 Survey (2021)

For all research and campaign insights visit protectyourbreath.co.nz

Michelle Lafferty