Flags over Flavours: What the Media Has Got Wrong About Vaping

In 2023, Australia tightened vaping device sales to tackle youth use. The news media has been keeping an eye on vaping since 2018. Australian newspapers showed a lot of interest in it but were often more exciting than accurate. Every publication is different though. News Corp put out 242 articles and made things more dramatic which might make younger people think it's not that bad to vape. Imagine, they could match their higher numbers of stories if they also included expert opinions. They could help prevent any misunderstanding of the risks. Nine Entertainment came next with 74 articles, then independent sources with 69, Australian Broadcasting Corps with 19, and the Australian Associated Press bringing up the rear with 6. The more news the bettter. Today's headlines should be fair. TV needs to come out and be more crystal clear.

A major target for all these papers should be the younger crowds. The image analysis showed that photos in newspapers can very easily glamourise vaping, making it look cool and exciting. That kind of writing is emotive, it can make vaping seem like a positive thing. The reality is dire. Sensationalist journalism isn't new. The whole country needs to think about how news values shape their information. We might find a better balance between storytelling and facts if we did.

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