Don't Make Smokes Your Story

Australian Government Department of Health

Video length: ~25 short videos under 2 minutes.

The Don’t Make Smokes Your Story campaign has been developed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This campaign promotes an anti-smoking and healthy choices message. The Don’t Make Smokes Your Story videos are a collection of real stories from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of various ages and locations across Australia. They provide information of the effects of smoking on self, family, culture and community.

Recommended videos:

• Michaela, SA (1:15) – Michaela reflects on the effects of her smoking, which had made her unfit. Her advice to people that want to start smoking is that it's not cool to smoke.
• Charles, QLD (1:48) – Charles smoked two and a half packets of cigarettes every day. A health scare made him give up for good. He wants to show that “smoking is not part of our culture”.
• Theodore, QLD (1:25) – Theodore recently started smoking at 15. He quit because he didn’t want his brothers to think smoking was normal. He shows us ways to refuse smokes, and now has more money to spend.
• Kerry, NSW (1:32) – Kerry is an Aboriginal Health Promotion Officer for about 20 years. She had smoked for about 10 years. Her grandchildren told her they didn’t want her to die from smoking, so she gave up smoking.
• Karlie, TAS (1:33) – Karlie is an Aboriginal educator and a role model to young Aboriginal children. This gave her the strength to give up smoking for good.

• Increased knowledge of smoking-related effects and harms.

Expert Review*:
This resource was developed by the Australian Government Department of Health through consultation with members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in metropolitan and rural locations across Australia. These videos are directly applicable to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people as they provide practical information about the effects of smoking on self, family, culture and community with clear prevention messages. The videos touch on components of the Australian Health and Physical Education curriculum, including social influences, social consequences, and support-seeking.

* Review produced by researchers at the Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use at the University of Sydney.