Winners Announced For National Teen Art Competition Highlighting Harms Of Vaping

The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ and the Life Education Trust are thrilled to announce the winners in the first ever Don’t Get Sucked In Poster Challenge: a national art competition for young people highlighting the harms of vaping.

Entrants were asked to design a poster that communicated one of five key messages around the risks of vaping to young people’s wellbeing and the environment. Foundation Āpiha Takawaenga - Māori (Māori Community Liaison) Sharon Pihema says with more than 280 entries received from across Aotearoa, judging was a tough task. "The standard of entries was incredibly high and showed that our rangatahi have a strong understanding of the risks that vaping poses to their own health, as well as the health of the environment."

The overall winner is 13-year-old Alexandra from Wellington. Ms Pihema says that this entry stood out for its strong visual impact and its clever use of imagery to illustrate the message; vapes have been designed to get you hooked.

The four runners-up are:

Hannah, 17 years old, Orewa

Braydon, 11 years old, Te Awamutu

Tamatea, 12 years old, Christchurch

Hollie, 11 years

The five winning posters are now all available for download on the Don’t Get Sucked In website, the Foundation’s vaping education site. The winners will each receive a $100 art kit and share $500 worth of Prezzy cards.

The competition is the latest effort from the Foundation and Life Education Trust to proactively share vaping harm education messages with young New Zealanders. The Life Education Trust runs programmes in schools on the impacts of vaping, while Foundation has developed an interactive workshop for intermediate and high school students on vaping harms which is delivered by Ms Pihema. The Foundation also shares youth-friendly information through its Don’t Get Sucked In website.

The winning entries can be viewed on the Don’t Get Sucked In website here.

The key messages from the competition were:

- Don’t get sucked in - vaping is harmful to your health and wellbeing. Kaua e whai i te ara momi haurehu - He kino te momi haurehu ki tō hauora

- Safer than smokes? Some vapes have the same amount of nicotine as a packet of cigarettes Haumaru ake i te momi paipa? - Kei etahi momi haurehu te nikotine orite ki tetahi pakete hikareti

- Don’t gamble with your lungs - we don’t know the long-term effects of vaping yet. Kaua e petipeti me ou pukahukahu - Kaore ano tatou e mohio ana i nga panga wa roa o te momi haurehu

- Vaping harms your lungs and the planet - e-waste from vapes is a growing problem. He kino te momi haurehu i te mea ka whakararu i o pukahukahu me te taiao - Te maha o nga rapihi mai i nga momi haurehu he raru nui ki te taiao

- Don’t get sucked in - vapes have been designed to get you hooked. Kaua e whai i te ara momi haurehu. Kua tuituingia nga momi haurehu hei warawara e koe.

ENDS

For more information contact:

Sharon Pihema | Āpiha Takawaenga, Asthma and Respiratory Foundation

Email: sharon @asthmaandrespiratory.org.nz, Mobile: +64 (0)21 038 4272

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