Campaign for Change

By Andrea Louise Thomas Photos Gary Sissons & supplied

When Mount Eliza anti-vaping campaigner Lily Ford began, she had only one objective – to help others. It came as quite a shock when she received hateful trolling on her social media accounts and online hate despite the mountain of evidence outlining the very unique hazards of this insidious device. (That said, she received a lot of positive messages too.) A recent study discovered that vaping can cause an irreversible type of lung cancer.

Like cigarettes, vapes contains a raft of toxic chemicals, such as formaldehyde (used to embalm bodies), arsenic (a poison), benzene (a known carcinogen) and heavy metals like nickel and cadmium that have no place in the human lung. This is only part of a very long list of toxins present in vapes. Then there is the highly addictive drug, nicotine, which keeps vapers obsessively using.

In the past, Lily’s vaping was driven by a desire to fit in. That need to belong had real health consequences for her. Granted, this was before the hard evidence about vapes had come out. She and her friends were under the impression that vaping was safer than smoking. There was also a cool, exotic factor to this new fad amongst her peers in high school. “Others saw it as a trend; I saw it as a way to belong,” she says.

“Your social circle determines what you think is cool,” she says. Binge drinking and vaping were common in the groups she wanted to hang out with. Joining that behaviour was a way to belong. “If you could hold your booze, you got more respect,” she says.

One of the appeals of vaping for Lily was the calm she felt after inhaling. Diagnosed with anxiety as a teenager, that sense of tranquillity brought her relief from the weight of anxiety until it didn’t. In fact, it made the anxiety much worse. The calm quickly evaporated, replaced by the anxious need for another puff. It became a vicious cycle.

It wasn’t until she started to feel the ill effects of vaping that her thinking started to change. She was in the grips of an addiction that was dominating her life. The vape was the first thing she reached for in the morning and the last thing she touched at night. She wanted better for herself.

Lily substituted the dopamine high she felt from vaping with the vastly superior high she experienced after a run. It was after her first run that she realised the physical fallout of vaping. She coughed up blood-tinged mucus from lung irritation along with the chemicals used to flavour vapes that were still hanging around in her lungs.

She challenged herself to run further. At first a kilometre seemed an eternity; next thing she knew, she was running a half marathon. Within 9-12 months Lily had not only a healthier body, but a stronger sense of self. She felt resilient and capable of doing hard things.

Lily wanted others to experience that positive change. She sent her story to the Cancer Council’s Quit campaign. “I wanted young people to feel inspired by my story,” she says. Then she started posting to social media illustrating the physical, emotional and spiritual transformation she was going through.

Her story was picked up by The Age newspaper. Lily was surprised to find herself on the cover. She also did a segment on 60 Minutes which was very affirming. She felt seen, respected, heard and grateful for the opportunity.

Now Lily is a yoga and Pilates instructor who is just finishing a five-year double Bachelor of Science degree in Social Science (Psychology) and Social Work (Honours) at RMIT. She is clean, sober, healthy and happy. “Understanding how to help others

Understanding how to help others drives me. I am here to heal and help others heal. I love people

drives me. I am here to heal and help others heal. I love people. Being so grounded and connected has transformed my life,” she says.

“When I was younger, I didn’t have any foresight. I couldn’t envision my life beyond 19. A trauma-informed lens was guiding me. I couldn’t apply the necessary judgment,” she says. Now, Lily knows who she is and loves this version of herself. Everything she has learned has reinforced her drive to help others. She’s a good example of how important it is for young people to know themselves and create a vision for the future. Everything Lily has put on her vision board has come to pass. She couldn’t ask for anything more.

@wellbeingwithlily