New results released for 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," said Jane Lennis, Tackling Indigenous Smoking manager at Galambila Aboriginal Health Service.

"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."

Flip the Vape Week ran from the 15th to 2st of 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.

"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," said Lionel Austin, manager of the Preventative Health Unit at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service.

"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."

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 Ms 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.

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.

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