Cancer Institute NSW and Bastion Deliver a Strong Message – Every Vape Is a Hit

The new campaign, ‘Every vape is a hit to your health’ has been developed by Bastion Agency to highlight the serious health harms caused by vaping. It features real stories from young people who have vaped and experienced first-hand the terrifying health consequences of vaping. Respiratory doctors also feature, sharing the evidence and experience they’ve had of vapes causing serious health problems. 

“The evidence of the harms vaping is causing is continuing to grow and is very concerning. Vapes are highly addictive, often contain nicotine and can cause lung damage and breathing problems, with some of the toxic chemicals found in vapes known to cause cancer,” said Matt Clarke, head of marketing, cancer screening and prevention, Cancer Institute NSW. 

“Hearing first-hand from the young people in the campaign, how much vaping had a hold on them and how it affected their health was really shocking. This behaviour change campaign aims to contribute to countering this growing issue by highlighting the health harms through a peer-to-peer approach”.

The strategy was informed by a robust and rigorously evidenced behaviour change model for vaping cessation and the creative idea validated for its ability to effectively change both attitudes and behaviours of young people who vape. It does this in an unexpected way, messaging not just the consequences but also the perceived upside and appeal of vapes in the minds of young people – a key factor in driving relevance and engagement by this audience, who feel understood and informed, rather than lectured at.

Simon Langley, Group CCO Bastion said, “This is a problem so concerning that we felt a huge responsibility on our shoulders to deliver a campaign that is going to make a truly significant impact. We believe this idea is the right one to do and research shows it is primed to hit hard and change behaviour”. 

The campaign is live across Cinema, OLV, digital display, OOH, native articles and social media.