Vaping Facts website

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Vaping Facts is a socially responsible digital resource which educates smokers about the benefits of switching to vaping, and empathetically discourages non-smokers from vaping. A first for New Zealand, the site communicates the governments collective and trusted view, specifically supporting Māori women aged 25 to 45 — the most at-risk demographic.


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Image: Website photography: Erica Sinclair
  • CHALLENGE
  • SOLUTION
  • IMPACT
  • MORE
  • Vaping is a highly controversial yet important topic. Public perception ranges from ‘vaping is worse than smoking' to 'vaping is harmless'. While some local councils ban vaping in public spaces, prominent advertising from manufacturers (often from the tobacco industry who have invested in vaping) promote it as a positive lifestyle choice. How does the public know who to trust? Currently, no clear laws are in place and limited credible research is available. What is available isn’t broadly accessible. Vaping Facts needed to deliver clear, non-opinionated truths to allow its target audience to make well-informed decisions for themselves and future generations.

  • Targeting ‘vape to quit’ messages to Māori women aged 25 to 45, the site is highly SEO optimised for those googling health-related matters. Leveraging the authoritative health.nz domain, the information was designed to rank well in search results. The name Vaping Facts itself was created to read well in search results. Through clear content design Vaping Facts strikes a relatable yet authoritative tone, delivering facts with bold headlines, digestible content, relatable imagery and reality-based, interview-style videos. There’s also a cost calculator, ‘vs smoking’ comparison tools and an interactive quiz to challenge audience assumptions and debunk fake news with core truths.

  • By 2025, the New Zealand Government’s goal is that fewer than 5% of New Zealanders smoke. Vaping, and the facts within this resource, have already directly aided the reduction and prevalence of smoking and tobacco. Designed to empower the vulnerable at a critical, stressful and confusing time, Vaping Facts is a ground-breaking project. It has armed the target audience with knowledge and equipped them to take positive action by making more informed decisions. The value of the project is clear — addressing the stigma attached to vaping, having an immediate impact with the target audience, and ensuring long-lasting intergenerational wellbeing.

  • “Vaping Facts is a critically important project, delivered at exactly the right time, for those who need it most. Our guiding principles were oritetanga (equity), making a complex and emotive subject accessible, and lifting the self-efficacy of our target audience. Holding true to these was the key to our success” — Sue Slater, Programme Manager Tobacco Control at Health Promotion Agency/Te Hiringa Hauora