The NEPHN – Population Health meeting held in March 2026 had a focus on Reducing harm from tobacco and e-cigarette use in north east Melbourne.
The meeting included key presentations and an in-depth panel discussion moderated by Mel Chisholm, Senior Manager – Population Health at NEPHU.
The session commenced with an overview on tobacco and vaping from Ameera Syed, Health Promotion and Prevention Officer at NEPHU, that highlighted key data and ongoing concerns related to the impact on the environment from vaping and the impact of second and third-hand exposure to tobacco smoke. Ameera referred to the Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner Report 2024-25 and described the activities NEPHU will be undertaking in this space over the next four years as part of the NEPHU Population Health Catchment Plan. The World Health Organization’s World No Tobacco Day 2026 was also highlighted and partners were encouraged to reach out if they have campaigns that NEPHU could support through promotion.
Heather O’Donnell, Community Systems Manager for Quit Victoria, provided a sector update from a state-wide perspective that included updates on the Victoria Tobacco Licensing Scheme, new nicotine data for early teens, and new vaping education resources for schools. Heather also provided an overview of Quit Victoria’s new smoke and vape-free signage campaign that will utilise positive behaviour change messaging and linkage to cessation support to strengthen smoke and vape-free environments across public spaces in Victoria. Upcoming new Quit Victoria campaigns that will be launched in the coming months were highlighted, as well as available vaping training courses for professionals in community and education settings .
Hannah Downes, Health Promotion Coordinator at cohealth provided an overview of vaping prevention work in community health. cohealth’s Health Promotion Strategy was presented and highlighted the key work planned for prevention harm from tobacco and vaping. Hannah also touched on some of the previous work at cohealth, and shared insights to the current and ongoing work, including how they are addressing vaping in priority communities.
The presentations wrapped up with an overview from Blossom Ah Ket, Health Translations Project Officer at Centre for Culture, Equity and Health (CEH) on the work by Health Translations. Blossom described how to access smoking and vaping translated materials, and how to register a resource with Health Translations and how to sign up to their newsletters.
The session concluded with a panel discussion facilitated by Mel Chisholm, featuring:
- Adele Chenoweth, Coordinator, Commercial & Economic Systems team at VicHealth,
- Rebecca Gillie, Health Promotion Officer at DPV Health,
- David Sloggett, Quitline Counsellor at Quitline,
- and the presenters mentioned above.
Discussion focused on collective action and how organisations can work together in responding to current challenges to reduce harm in the tobacco and vaping space. Insight into individual support available through Quitline was also shared. The importance of prioritising harm minimisation approaches and values-based messaging was also featured as a way to engage and support younger people to prevent smoking and vaping.
