The new action plan will include activities to educate and inform Canberrans, particularly young people, to prevent and reduce e-cigarette use. Photo: File.
Cracking down on the harm caused by excessive alcohol use and e-cigarettes will form a central part of the ACT’s new multi-year action plan for preventative health.
The ACT Preventive Health Action Plan 2023-2025 builds on the previous three-year plan and focuses on ACT Government-led actions to prevent chronic disease.
One of the five priority areas is the reduction of risky behaviours, which includes nicotine and alcohol, as well as sexually transmitted infections and bloodborne viruses.
“The ACT Government is committed to minimising the harm caused in our community by vaping and excessive alcohol use, particularly for young Canberrans and at-risk members of our community,” Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said.
“Excessive consumption of alcohol creates a significant burden on our healthcare system. It has immediate and long-term health effects which impact not only the individual but also families and the wider community,” she said.
Ms Stephen-Smith said e-cigarettes are of particular concern as the number of young people taking up vaping continues to grow at an alarming rate.
According to the latest ACT General Health Survey, more than 43 per cent of young people tried an e-cigarette in 2021, compared with 13 per cent in 2015-16. The percentage of adults who use e-cigarettes daily or occasionally increased from 2.2 per cent in 2018 to 7.1 per cent in 2022.
“E-cigarettes are not safe. They present a significant health risk due to the nicotine and other harmful chemicals used in e-liquids, exposure to first or second-hand particulate matter, and the safety of the devices themselves,” she said.
“The rates of vaping, especially among young people, is very concerning. We are eager to see those who already use e-cigarettes get support to stop and to reduce the likelihood of others starting to vape. Initiatives in this space will complement the strong regulatory approach being led by the Commonwealth Government and agreed by all states and territories.”
The action plan says the ACT Government will take a “multifaceted approach” to reducing the harm associated with smoking and e-cigarettes, which will include regulation, education and cessation support.
“Regulating existing, new and emerging tobacco and nicotine products is an ongoing challenge and focus of harm minimisation efforts, including actions to reduce supply and demand, as well as reducing harms,” the report said.
Building on existing efforts to crack down on disposable nicotine e-cigarettes, the new action plan will include activities to educate and inform Canberrans, particularly young people and schools, to prevent and reduce e-cigarette use. ACT Health will carry these out with support from the Education Directorate.
ACT Health will also be reviewing the Territory’s current tobacco and smoking laws to ensure they effectively contribute to harm minimisation in the community.
Other new actions under the 2023-25 plan include providing support to detainees at the smoke-free Alexander Maconochie Centre to quit smoking and investigating approaches to support people with mental illness to quit smoking.
The ACT Government will also be reviewing the regulatory framework for services that offer same-day delivery of alcohol.
Alongside the launch of the plan, the ACT Government has opened applications for $2 million in Healthy Canberra Grants to help minimise the harm caused by vaping and alcohol abuse.
Community organisations are encouraged to apply for the latest grant round. Proposals will need to address one or more of the five funding priorities:
- Reducing the number of people who vape in cohorts in which vaping is more prevalent
- Preventing people from taking up e-cigarettes, particularly young people, and reducing vaping-related harms
- Delaying the uptake of alcohol consumption
- Reducing the risk of single-occasion drinking harm
- Reducing the risk of alcohol-related harm from before conception through pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Applications for the grant round close at 4 pm on Wednesday, 14 February 2024.
“Actions within this action plan are responsive to community feedback and emerging evidence. This includes increasing prevalence of e-cigarette use, the rising cost of living pressures, harmful impacts of alcohol use in private settings and the need to invest in better supporting children and families to save future costs to the healthcare system,” the report said.
For more information on the program, visit the ACT Health website or contact Healthy Canberra Grants by email [email protected] or phone 5124 9456.
Original Article published by Lizzie Waymouth on Riotact.
