Northern Territory kids drop rap music video Vaping is a Fool’s Game

Young rapper Jade Jackson says she hopes to ‘make change’, after she and her mates dropped a rap video aimed to end nicotine dependence among the Territory’s young people.

Amid the war on vaping, a group of Indigenous teenagers has used their rap skills to encourage Territorian kids to stay clear of electronic cigarettes.

For the past few months, students from the Top End’s Clontarf and Stars programs have been undergoing workshops conducted by Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) to develop resources aimed at informing Indigenous kids on the dangers of vaping.

The workshop inspired the students to leverage their talent to further highlight the risks associated with vaping and filmed a rap music video titled ‘Vaping is a Fool’s Game’.

Main rapper, Jade Jackson, said she hoped to make a difference with the creative video.

“I’m inspired by my feelings and then I wrote about my feelings to try to make change,” she said.

“The aim is to really stop people from vaping and spread the message, hopefully people will listen to it and stop.”

The students created the video after coming together in a workshop aiming to tackle vaping.

As of July 1, 2024, nicotine vapes in Australia are regulated as therapeutic goods are only available at pharmacies to help people quit smoking or manage dependence.

However, despite the crackdown on vaping well under way, Jade said the health risk associated with electronic cigarettes needed to be emphasised.

“Vaping is not healthy for you or people around you, you can buy fruits instead of buying vaping flavours,” she said.

“People vape just for comfort, they think their feelings and emotions will go away with it, but it’s still there and that’s not healthy.”

The video can be viewed online at Aboriginal community service Danila Dilba’s YouTube channel.