Flip the Vape Week (15 to 21 June 2026) was the first national Aboriginal-led week of action on youth vaping ever held in Australia, delivered by six Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations and their Tackling Indigenous Smoking teams across six states and territories, and fronted by more than 30 young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ambassadors. The campaign combined community activation with a national outdoor buy and tightly targeted paid social.
Action
- More than 42,000 click-throughs to quitting support and information
- More than 920,000 campaign videos watched across TikTok, Instagram and Facebook
- Schools across four states invited teams back to deliver follow-up programmes
Reach
- More than 38 million impressions nationally across the campaign
- 35.6 million outdoor impressions (35,613,487) across billboards, buses, retail screens and street furniture in every state and territory, independently measured via MOVE 2.0 as reaching more than 1.9 million people aged 14 and over
- More than 3 million paid social impressions delivered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people aged 16 to 24
Community
- More than 1000 attendees across 11 community events across six states and territories, shaped by local mob for their own communities
- Attendees at Tasmanian events left with measurably more negative views of vaping than when they arrived
- In the Northern Territory, young people began quit conversations with their own families at home
MEDIA RELEASE | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | NAIDOC WEEK, 9 JULY 2026 |
New results released this NAIDOC Week show the first national Aboriginal-led week of action on youth vaping reached young people at national scale, generating more than 38 million campaign impressions, 920,000 video views and over 42,000 click-throughs to quitting support and information, with schools across four states now asking for more.
Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people told their health services they were tired of being lectured about vaping. So they flipped the script themselves. This NAIDOC Week, as Australia celebrates 50 Years of Deadly, the communities behind Flip the Vape have released the first results of the largest coordinated community-led anti-vaping effort the country has seen.
“This came out from the kids. The young people were telling us they wanted to see it flipped in a different way. They want the truth around what it is, and they want the strength to say, yeah, nah. We have the solutions to our own problems, and the young ones have spoken,” said Jane Lennis, Tackling Indigenous Smoking Manager at Galambila Aboriginal Health Service.
Body:
Flip the Vape Week ran from 15 to 21 June 2026, delivered on the ground by six Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) and Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) teams across six states and territories (VIC, NSW, TAS, NT, WA, SA). It was the first national Aboriginal-led week of action on youth vaping ever held in Australia.
The need is pressing. Around one in five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have tried a vape, 8 per cent currently vape, and First Nations people are 1.5 times more likely to vape than non-Indigenous Australians. Young people who vape are significantly more likely to take up smoking.
Rather than lectures or scare tactics, Flip the Vape was built with young people, not designed for them from the outside. It runs on humour, culture, community pride and peer-led storytelling. At its heart was the Flip the Vape Challenge, with young people filming themselves choosing to flip the vape for something better and nominating their mates using #FlipTheVape.
The results
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42,000 click-throughs to quitting support and more than 920,000 campaign videos watched.
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Schools across states have invited teams back to deliver follow-up programmes.
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In the Northern Territory, young people began quit conversations with their own families at home. In South Australia, community members expressed a direct desire to quit smoking and vaping. In Tasmania, attendees left events viewing vaping more negatively than when they arrived.
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Outdoor advertising on buses, billboards, retail screens and street furniture in every state and territory delivered more than 35.6 million impressions, independently measured as reaching over 1.9 million Australians aged 14 and over, alongside 3 million paid social impressions directed to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people aged 16 to 24.
“Seeing six ACCHOs across six states come together and deliver this in the same week, with the same energy, was something we have not seen before in this space. What struck me most was watching the young mob take ownership of it completely. They were not waiting to be told what to do. They were leading. That is exactly what this movement was built for,” said Lionel Austin, Manager of the Preventative Health Unit at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service.
The week was led publicly by principal ambassador Courtney Ugle, a proud Noongar woman, Swan Districts WAFLW player and founder of Waangkiny.
"This isn't just a campaign, it's a movement. Vaping gets in the way of the things that matter most, like training, family, showing up for your community. If you've been thinking about quitting, now is the time," said Ugle.
Campaign materials and performance data are now being shared with government decision-makers as the movement builds its case for ongoing national support. The organisers say the results demonstrate what community-controlled health can deliver at national scale when it is resourced to lead.
Young people, communities, youth services and schools are encouraged to flip the vape for something worth showing up for. For quitting support or campaign resources, visit flipthevape.com.
Notes
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Flip the Vape is delivered on the ground by six ACCHOs: VAHS (Victoria), Galambila (New South Wales), Nunkuwuarrin Yunti (South Australia), GRAMS (Western Australia), FIAAI (Tasmania) and Danila Dilba Health Service (Northern Territory).
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Eleven community events ran across the six states and territories during Flip the Vape Week, each shaped by local mob. Highlights included a permanent Flip the Vape mural unveiled by Yorta Yorta artist Dylan J Charles (Djunda) at Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative in Victoria, Adelaide Crows AFL player Izak Rankine appearing as a surprise guest in South Australia, and between 250 and 300 young people aged 12 to 25 attending in Tasmania.
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Interviews available: Courtney Ugle, principal ambassador; Lionel Austin and Ethan Penrith (VAHS, Victoria; Penrith is an FNFL player for the Fitzroy Stars and former VFL player for Tatura); Jane Lennis (Galambila, NSW); Doretta Weston (Nunkuwarrin Yunti, SA); Elijah Roberts-Smyth (Danila Dilba, NT); A. Ware, Aboriginal rapper and songwriter and Project Officer at Nunkuwarrin Yunti; and any of the campaign's 30 young ambassadors from communities across all six states and territories.
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Community event photography, campaign creative and video content are available for media use. Press kit here.
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Localised versions of this release, featuring local events and local talent, are available for every participating state and territory.
About us:
About the Flip the Vape partners
Flip the Vape is delivered by six Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) and their Tackling Indigenous Smoking teams, one in each participating state and territory.
Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) has served the Aboriginal community of Melbourne and Victoria since 1973, making it one of the first Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations in the country. VAHS provides culturally safe, holistic health and wellbeing services with a strong focus on community-led care, prevention, and social and emotional wellbeing. VAHS leads Flip the Vape in Victoria as The Koori Way.
Galambila Aboriginal Health Service is an ACCHO providing comprehensive primary health care to more than 3,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on Gumbaynggirr Country, serving the communities of Coffs Harbour, Urunga, Bellingen and Woolgoolga in New South Wales. Galambila delivers Flip the Vape in NSW as Ready. Quit. Solid.
Nunkuwarrin Yunti of South Australia, whose name means "Working Together, Doing Right Together", is the largest Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service in South Australia. First incorporated in 1971, it provides health and community services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the state from its base in Adelaide, and leads Flip the Vape in South Australia.
Geraldton Regional Aboriginal Medical Service (GRAMS) was established by local Elders in 1978 and provides comprehensive, culturally secure health care to Aboriginal people across the Midwest, Murchison and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia. GRAMS delivers Flip the Vape in WA as Barndi Yarraly.
Flinders Island Aboriginal Association Inc. (FIAAI) is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation providing community-led health, aged care, housing and youth services, alongside statewide prevention programmes in Tasmania. FIAAI delivers Flip the Vape in Tasmania through its QuitMob programme.
Danila Dilba Health Service was established in 1991 following a community campaign for culturally appropriate primary health care for Biluru (Aboriginal) people of the Yilli Rreung (Greater Darwin) region. Its Larrakia name means "dilly bag used to collect bush medicines". Danila Dilba leads Flip the Vape in the Northern Territory.
Mo Works is a Melbourne-based creative agency specialising in behaviour change, social impact and culturally led storytelling, and is the campaign's creative and communications partner.
Contact details:
Ethan Penrith, Yorta-Yorta / Yamatji, TIS State-wide Operations Coordinator - Preventative Health Unit
Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (on behalf of the Flip the Vape partners)
Phone: 0434 524 650 Email: [email protected]
Daniela Abril, Campaign Manager, Flip the Vape
Phone: 03 9642 7156 / Email: [email protected]
