FLIP THE VAPE hits the tracks: Bold anti-vaping message wraps Melbourne’s no. 86 tram

A tram on route 86 passing through Nicholson Street, covered in bright, red and yellow anti-vaping messaging.

Flip the Vape! An unmissable tram wrap featuring young Indigenous leaders from regional and urban communities in Victoria. Picture: Ian Green (vicsig.net)

An E-Class tram at the Preston Depot, covered in yellow anti-vaping messaging applied to it.

Flip the Vape - Wrapped tram stationed at the Preston Depot before it goes on the 86 and 11 lines.

An E Class Tram with Flip the Vape messaging moving away from the city, skyline in the background.

No fear. No lectures. Just a strong message: “Quitters Breathe Easier”. Led by VAHS and The Koori Way, in partnership with Mo Works, this is the largest rollout of the anti-vaping campaign to date.

Ditching scare tactics for strength and pride, this groundbreaking Victorian campaign for Aboriginal youth is coming to a tram near you.

We wanted to go beyond digital platforms and bring the movement directly into public spaces. The tram wrap is a mobile statement of the pride, strength, and community power that this campaign embodies”

— Salomae Haselgrove, Media Lead at VAHS

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, August 28, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- One of Melbourne’s busiest trams, the No. 86, has become a moving billboard for change, showcasing the bold and empowering FLIP THE VAPE campaign, which is reshaping the way anti-vaping messages are delivered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth across Victoria.
The full tram wrap is the largest visual execution of the campaign to date, bringing a vibrant and unapologetic call to action into the heart of the city, where thousands of commuters and Melburnians will see it every day. Featuring one of the campaign slogans of “Quitters breathe easier”, it’s designed to engage young people through a lens of empowerment rather than fear.
Led by the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) through its statewide initiative, The Koori Way, and created in collaboration with creative agency Mo Works, FLIP THE VAPE is flipping the script on traditional public health campaigns. With a focus on positivity, youth voices, and cultural pride, this campaign meets young people where they are, on social media, in their communities, and now, on the tracks of Melbourne’s iconic tram network.
The original FLIP THE VAPE campaign launched in January 2025, and has reached more than 1 million young people in Victoria. An early survey showed that 70% of the target audience said the campaign had made them reconsider their outlook towards smoking. The campaign has influenced discussions by numerous public health bodies as a reference model, and it will be rolled out in Tasmania in October, with other states also considering implementation of the campaign.

“We wanted to go beyond digital platforms and bring the movement directly into public spaces,” said Salomae Haselgrove, Media Lead at VAHS. “The tram wrap is a mobile statement of the pride, strength, and community power that this campaign embodies.”

The tram’s debut coincides with rising concerns about vaping among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth. National data shows that 22% of Indigenous people aged 15+ have tried vaping, with 16% of vapers aged 18–24. The FLIP THE VAPE campaign challenges this trend by centering Indigenous youth as leaders and change-makers in their own communities.

The No. 86 tram route, which runs through key areas like Bundoora, Preston, Northcote, and the Melbourne CBD, will ensure high visibility across diverse communities, amplifying a message of hope, health, and self-determination.

About the campaign
- The Koori Way, a Victorian statewide anti-tobacco and anti-vaping health campaign led by the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS), is making an impact with its “FLIP THE VAPE” campaign, designed to empower Indigenous youth to take control of their health and quit vaping.
- The campaign, funded by the National Tackling Indigenous Smoking Program, takes an approach never seen before in anti-vaping or smoking campaigns, by skipping lectures, fear-based language, and scare tactics in favour of bold, positive, and empowering messaging, along with a community-driven approach. - Young people are encouraged to ‘Be a quitter’, ‘Breathe easy’ and ‘Join the flipping movement’.
- The campaign features influential young Indigenous leaders and advocates from regional and urban communities in Victoria (including Mildura, Geelong, Portland, Dandenong, Framlingham Mission and Shepparton), who were the face and voice of this campaign, ensuring broad representation. Alongside our ambassadors, key stakeholders also included 11 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs), as well as Aboriginal Quitline, which provided cessation support for the campaign.
- The campaign has already made an impact: starting in January 2025, it has reached more than 1 million young people in Victoria, and an early survey showed that 70% of the target audience said the campaign had made them reconsider their outlook towards smoking. The campaign has also influenced discussions by numerous public health bodies as a reference model. It will be rolled out in Tasmania in October, with other states also considering implementation of the campaign.

Daniela Abril
Mo Works
+61 450 966 681
marketing@moworks.com.au
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