Tobacco and vaping health promotion in Australia for VCE Health and Human Development Unit 3 AoS 2

Part a averaged 2.4 out of 4 (7 per cent scored zero). Part b averaged 1.5 out of 3 (22 per cent scored zero).

What part a needed (report)

Link smoking/vaping to the dimensions of health and wellbeing and/or a measure of health status, using a different health outcome for each example. Generic answers such as "smoking increases morbidity" lost marks; give context ("increases morbidity from lung cancer") and a direction ("decreases life expectancy", not "impacts life expectancy").

High-scoring part a (report, summarised)

Cigarettes and e-cigarettes contain carcinogens that cause faults in dividing cells, leading to tumours, increasing the prevalence of cancer. They also contain chemicals that build plaque in the arteries (atherosclerosis), increasing the likelihood of heart attack and mortality from cardiovascular disease.

What part b needed (report)

A deep understanding of how the initiative reflects the social model: it targets broader determinants (environmental and sociocultural factors), focuses on lifestyle-based disease, uses health promotion and prevention through policy and education, targets whole communities, addresses inequities, and the Ottawa Charter enacts it. Specific programs such as Quit or government policies were accepted but not required; general examples such as social media or education campaigns were also accepted.

High-scoring part b (report, summarised)

The Quit program's free website gives people tools such as distracting themselves with a video when they feel the urge to smoke. This develops personal skills, equipping smokers to manage cravings, so they are more likely to persist and quit, reducing rates of smoking and vaping.

Part c (reducing smoking/vaping as a resource individually and nationally) belongs with health as a resource in Unit 3 AoS 1.

Source: 2025 VCE Health and Human Development examination, Question 4a and 4b, and the 2025 examiners' report.

Six marks: two action areas, each named and applied to a real Australian tobacco measure, with a link to falling smoking rates (about 3 marks each).

Build healthy public policy (about 3 marks): repeated large increases in tobacco excise and plain packaging laws raise the price and reduce the appeal of cigarettes, which lowers affordability and discourages uptake, reducing smoking prevalence.

Develop personal skills or create supportive environments (about 3 marks): mass-media Quit campaigns and graphic warnings teach people the harms and the skills to quit (develop personal skills), while smoke-free laws in pubs, workplaces and public spaces make not smoking the easy default (create supportive environments), both reducing smoking.

"Analyse" means link each action area to the measurable fall in smoking (daily smoking among people aged 14 and over fell from 19.5 per cent in 2001 to 5.6 per cent in 2025, AIHW), not just describe the measure.

Marks guide (Original, modelled on VCAA criteria)

5 marks: accurately describes the reforms, explains how they are intended to work, and weighs strengths against limitations with a judgement supported by data. 3-4 marks: describes the reforms with some evaluation. 1-2 marks: some relevant information.

The reforms

Disposable vapes were banned from import from 1 January 2024; from 1 July 2024 the supply of disposable and non-therapeutic vapes became illegal, so vapes can only be sold through pharmacies; from 1 October 2024 adults can buy therapeutic vapes (nicotine 20 mg/mL or less) from a pharmacist without a prescription.

Why they were needed

Current vaping by people aged 14 and over rose from 2.5 per cent in 2019 to 7.0 per cent in 2022-2023, including about 21 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds and 9.7 per cent of 14 to 17 year olds (AIHW).

Early evidence

Current vaping among 18 to 24 year olds fell to 14 per cent in 2025 (AIHW NDSHS 2025), consistent with reduced access, although the survey cannot prove the reforms alone caused the fall.

Limitations

Enforcement is difficult because an illicit market supplies vapes and tobacco (34 per cent of people who smoke reported recently buying or using illicit tobacco in 2025), and some young people may switch to products such as nicotine pouches (1.8 per cent of people aged 14 and over used them in the previous 12 months, 2025).

Judgement

The reforms are a necessary and promising strategy, but their success depends on enforcement against illicit sales and on complementary education and support to quit.

(a) Create supportive environments (1 mark): the setting is changed so not smoking is the easy choice. (Accept build healthy public policy for the law itself if justified.)

(b) Develop personal skills (1 mark): counsellors help smokers plan and build the skills to quit. (Accept reorient health services if justified as a cessation service.)

1 mark each. It removes brand logos, colours and imagery, so packs are less appealing, especially to young people who might start smoking. It places large graphic health warnings on a drab pack, so the harms are seen every time the pack is used, prompting quit attempts.

Link to the model (1 mark)

The social model targets the broader determinants of health and uses policy to prevent disease across whole populations.

Mechanism (1 mark)

Excise raises the price of cigarettes, an economic factor, making them less affordable, so fewer people start and more quit, especially young people and people on low incomes.

Outcome (1 mark)

Lower smoking prevalence reduces lung cancer, COPD and cardiovascular disease across the population, preventing illness rather than treating it.

Description (2 marks). Importing disposable vapes was banned from 1 January 2024. From 1 July 2024, the supply of disposable and non-therapeutic vapes (for example in convenience stores and tobacconists) became illegal. From 1 October 2024, adults can buy therapeutic vapes with nicotine concentration of 20 mg/mL or less from a pharmacist without a prescription, while under-18s need a prescription.

Explanation (2 marks). Removing vapes from convenience stores near schools and banning flavoured, brightly packaged disposables reduces young people's access and exposure, so fewer experiment and become dependent on nicotine.

Trend with data (2 marks). Daily smoking among people aged 14 and over fell from 19.5 per cent in 2001 to 11.0 per cent in 2019, 8.3 per cent in 2022-2023 and 5.6 per cent in 2025 (AIHW National Drug Strategy Household Survey).

Description (1 mark). The fall has been steady for over two decades and has accelerated since 2019, so the proportion of daily smokers has more than halved.

Marks guide (Original)

About 3 marks per action area: the area named accurately, a real Australian measure that reflects it, and a clear link to reduced smoking and improved health outcomes, using data.

Build healthy public policy

Large, repeated excise increases (12.5 per cent a year from 2013 to 2020 and 5 per cent a year for three years from September 2023) and plain packaging (from December 2012) raise the price and strip away brand appeal, so fewer young people start and more smokers quit.

Create supportive environments

Smoke-free laws in workplaces, pubs, restaurants and outdoor dining areas remove cues and opportunities to smoke and make not smoking the norm, supporting quit attempts and protecting non-smokers from second-hand smoke.

Link to outcomes

Together these helped reduce daily smoking among people aged 14 and over from 19.5 per cent in 2001 to 5.6 per cent in 2025 (AIHW), which lowers future incidence and mortality from lung cancer, COPD and cardiovascular disease.

Marks guide (Original, modelled on VCAA extended-response criteria)

7-8: accurate knowledge of several initiatives; data used to judge effectiveness; strengths and limitations weighed; clear, justified judgement. 5-6: sound evaluation with some data. 3-4: describes initiatives with limited evaluation. 1-2: limited relevant information.

Strengths

Layered measures across all five Ottawa Charter action areas have cut daily smoking from 19.5 per cent (2001) to 5.6 per cent (2025), and adult daily smoking was 5.8 per cent in 2025, close to the National Tobacco Strategy target of 5 per cent or less by 2030. The age-standardised burden attributable to tobacco fell 41 per cent from 2003 to 2024 (AIHW). Policy addresses broader determinants (price, availability, environments) so benefits reach the whole population.

Challenges

Illicit tobacco: in 2025, about one in three people who smoke (34 per cent) had recently bought or used illicit tobacco, undermining the price lever. Vaping: current use among 18 to 24 year olds was 20.6 per cent in 2022-2023 and still 14 per cent in 2025. Inequity: smoking remains higher in disadvantaged groups and among First Nations people.

Judgement

The approach is highly effective for tobacco, as shown by the sustained fall in smoking and tobacco-attributable burden, but its future effectiveness depends on enforcement against illicit supply and on sustaining the recent fall in youth vaping.