Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are devices that produce a vapour which is breathed in. The process is similar to smoking, except you don’t have to burn the tobacco.

E-cigarettes are often promoted as a healthier option, but this may not be the case. Many e-cigarettes still contain nicotine as well as other potentially harmful chemicals such as ammonia that are breathed into your lungs and very quickly absorbed into your body. Smokers inhale so much and so frequently that we just don’t know what the impacts of these chemicals will be. However, we do know e-cigarettes containing nicotine are addictive, just like tobacco.

Smoking e-cigarettes is not recommended as a means to quit tobacco smoking. If you are trying to quit smoking, Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is a better choice. NRT is designed to gradually release nicotine into your body to help relieve symptoms you may get when you are trying to quit. However, NRT avoids the surge of nicotine that enhances addiction. It’s that surge of nicotine from a cigarette or an e-cigarette that provides the reward and keeps you addicted. NRT avoids this, while buffering withdrawal symptoms.

Quitting smoking can improve your quality of life by having a positive impact on your physical health. What’s more, research shows that, after the nicotine withdrawal has been overcome, there are substantial long-lasting improvements to your mental health with reduced levels of anxiety and depression. Swapping to e-cigarettes won’t give you the same result.

If you would like help to quit, or you would like to refer someone to get help, call the Quitline on 13 7848, or talk to your health professional.

E-cigarettes – the top 5 issues

1. Availability and take-up is increasing

In countries like the USA where e-cigarettes are very easy to buy, young people have been taking them up at an alarming rate. In 2014, e-cigarette use tripled among high school students compared to the previous year. Even more alarmingly, there was no downward trend in tobacco use.

2. They are a gateway to smoking tobacco and other drugs

Studies around the world (such as these from the USA, Canada and Germany) have found high school students who have never smoked, but start using e-cigarettes, are much more likely to end up smoking tobacco.

3. No one can be sure they’re safe

E-cigarettes have the potential to be addictive, which means people are at risk of exposure to large amounts of nicotine and other potentially harmful chemicals. Some of these chemicals are not in tobacco smoke, so it is unknown what long-term health consequences they will have. However, evidence is growing, and some studies have linked them to issues such as blood pressure, heart rate and arterial stiffness. Both the Australian Government and World Health Organization have recently issued warnings on the health implications of inhaling harmful toxics in e-cigarettes.

4. They don’t help people quit

When e-cigarettes were first available, it was thought they could be used to help smokers cut down and eventually quit smoking tobacco. Since then, more evidence has come to light. E-cigarettes aren’t any more effective at helping people quit. Worse, they often result in smokers using both e-cigarettes and tobacco.

5. They are not regulated in many countries

Even though restrictions on tobacco advertising and product placement have been in place for many years, e-cigarettes are not as tightly governed… yet. Like tobacco companies before them, e-cigarettes have snuck their way into Hollywood movies because it’s a tried and tested way of getting people to smoke.

NSW Health has been careful in regulating the use of e-cigarettes. Click here to read more about the regulations in place.

Welcome to Refresh @ Home

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 has changed the daily lives and routines of people living and working on the Central Coast.

To help you during this time, we’ve relaunched our Refresh – Kids & Families page to become Refresh @ Home. Here you’ll find a collection of our resources, as well as information and advice on a number of topics, from exercising at home, to cooking healthy meals, mental health support, activities and games.

Please continue to check this page for further updates. You’ll find new updates are now marked *NEW* so you can quickly spot them. You can also subscribe to our new Refresh @ Home newsletter to stay updated about new resources and information added to this page.

Last updated: 17 September 2020

Activities and Games
Exercise
Healthy Eating
Older People
Alcohol Reduction

Activities and Games

With kids at home, families will need plenty of games and activities to keep them occupied. Fear not, we’ve got you covered with a number of resources and programs to help keep you and your family both active and entertained.

*NEW* Our Magic Lunchbox storybook has been brought to life through animated storytelling. The story, written by Central Coast author Angela Barrett, supports children aged 4–6 years to understand everyday healthy food choices and “the magic made, when you put good food inside.” Watch a reading of the story below. You can also download more Magic Lunchbox resources and a copy of the book here.

*NEW* We’ve created a series of videos of our Family ACTIVation games. Family ACTIVation is a fun-packed resource to help parents and carers of 5–12-year-olds get active with their children. It’s full of quick and easy games to play at home, in the park, or wherever. Games that reinforce the fundamental movement skills like throwing, catching, hopping and skipping… the same movement skills being learnt at school. Why not try our Tricky Catches game by watching the video below. You can download the Family ACTIVation resource packand watch the full set of videos here.

Keep your kids entertained with Jack’s FUNtastic Day. Written by Central Coast author Angela Barrett, Jack’s FUNtastic Day is a story for 3–6-year-olds about a boy named Jack who leaves his screen behind for a day to embark on a fun-finding expedition. Click the image below to take you directly to the story or here to a page with related activity books for pre-school and primary school aged-children.

To get your kids fitter, healthier and happier, why not try our next Go4Fun Online program, which starts on Monday 12 October. Go4Fun Online is a free 10-week program for families with children between 7–13 years old. Parents and children view weekly online sessions where they learn tips and tricks for healthy eating and keeping fit. Families also receive weekly personalised phone support from a Go4Fun coach at a time convenient for them, as well as email and text message support to keep them on track.

*NEW* Queensland Health has developed a new children’s book called Birdie and the Virus, The book has been specifically designed to support the mental health and emotional wellbeing of babies and young children, their parents and families, during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can download a copy of it or watch a video version of it here.
Our Get Active Today tool has some ideas on simple games and activities you can play to support the development of children ages 4–8.
Northern Sydney Local Health District has produced Keeping Kids Active – a range of outdoor activities for primary school children. From balls games and treasure hunts, to obstacles courses and chalk challenges, you’ll find lots of ways to keep your kids active and entertained.
Kids Health has compiled a helpful page with a number of play ideas for children, including indoor and outdoor games and educational and sensory activities.
While we’re all spending more time at home, reducing screen time can be a challenge. Watch this video full of handy tips to help your family sit less and move more. Check out NSW Health’s screen time page for more guidance and tips.
Our friends at Northern Sydney Local Health District have produced Brain Breaks. They’re short three to four-minute movement breaks that give children a break from learning and have been shown to improve behaviour and concentration, increase physical activity, manage emotions and enhance learning outcomes.

Exercise

Exercise is more important now than ever before – both to support our physical health and mental health.

As we spend more time at home, many of us will be looking at converting our living rooms and gardens into exercise spaces, or looking for new ways to stay active. Here are some great ways to exercise, covering all ages and abilities, to ensure we continue to give our body and mind the work out it needs.

*NEW* With October just around the corner, the Biketober Business Challenge is nearly upon us. There’s never been a better time to enjoy riding bike. It’s a great way to ensure you’re getting enough daily exercise, boost your mood and your immune system and an easy and fun way to travel from A to B while avoiding crowds. Biketober is a fun, free competition amongst individuals and businesses in NSW to see which workplace can get the most staff to try riding a bike in October. There’s leaderboards to compete on and loads of prizes to win for riding and encouraging friends and colleagues to ride too. What’s more, anyone who registers before 1 October will be in the running to win a brand new Bosch-powered e-bike worth $3,899. Click on the image below to register or find out more.

NSW Health’s Get Healthy at Work program has developed a Being Healthy While Working From Home guide with lots of information – from physical activity, to healthy eating and mental health advice.
On the subject of mental health, NSW Government has produced a factsheet with advice on how to look after your mental health during COVID-19.
*NEW* The Department of Education School Sport Unit and The Arts Unit have produced a range of videos called [email protected] to teach kids a range of fundamental and sport-specific skills using items found at home in their living rooms, in a fun and engaging way. Watch the video on skipping for children ages 3–6 below and check out the rest of the episodes here.

Looking for a series of engaging, fun and healthy workouts your kids can do at home? Then look no further than this YouTube series from The Body Coach.
NSW Health’s Make Healthy Normal website has some simple exercises to do from home or outdoors. You can view and download a range of workouts, from beginner, low-intensity and high-intensity workouts.
The NSW Institute of Sport has put together a High Performance at Home page containing a selection of videos by some of Australia’s top athletes to help us exercise at home, including improving your running technique and full body 30-minute workouts. Check out its 15-minute full body workout for beginners or daily flexibility routine for working from home.
As many of us begin to think about returning to our places of work as restrictions lift, why not consider active transport to work. Central Coast Health Promotion runs a Go Active 2 Work Day every third Wednesday of the month, with monthly gatherings in William Street, Gosford. To join the Go Active 2 Work community, receive a welcome pack and updates, visit our Go Active 2 Work page.

Healthy Eating

Spending more time at home is a great opportunity to cook fresh and healthy meals every day. Avoid the temptation to snack and starting experimenting in the kitchen. And if you’re not sure what to prepare, don’t worry, we’ve listed a number of resources with helpful recipes and advice to ensure you eat healthily at home.

*NEW* The Heart Foundation has put together a fantastic page full of ideas on how to make healthier meals at home. It includes heart healthy recipes, healthy cooking methods and food swaps, meal planning on a budget, and more.
Want to help improve your diet and stay active during the COVID-19 pandemic? NSW Health’s Get Healthy program is a free telephone-based information and coaching service that sets personalised healthy lifestyle goals on health eating, becoming more activity, achieving a healthy weight, reducing alcohol intake and achieving healthy weight gain in pregnancy. Watch the video below for more information.

Our Good Bite factsheets, developed by Central Coast Public Health and Community Nutrition Team, contain recipes and advice for parents and carers of children ages 0–5 years old. Our latest edition is full of advice about which foods can help your immune system.
NSW Health’s guide to healthy eating while working from home contains recipes, advice on grocery shopping and other tips ans tricks to eat healthier.
Nutrition and dietetics experts at the University of Newcastle have launched the website No Money No Time. It aims to improve the eating habits of young Australians and includes quick, cheap, easy and healthy recipes. You can even take its Healthy Eating Quiz and get a personalised report on your eating habits along with recipe suggestions and ideas based on the information you provide.
The LiveLighter program has a number of healthy recipes and meal plans to download, including 12-week plans and family meal plans.
Our Patch to Plate recipe book boasts a collection of tasty and healthy recipes from primary schools on the Central Coast, curated by our Central Coast School Garden Interest Group.
If you’re staying inside, the good news is you won’t be short of the only drink you need to keep you and your children hydrated and healthy – water. Our Thirsty? Choose Water! research program is all about promoting the benefits of making water your drink of choice. Click on the image below to find out more and follow Thirsty on Instagram.

Older People

There are a number of tailored resources for older people that can help them stay active, healthy, connected and safe at home.

Active and Healthy

*NEW* If you’re 60 or older, you can get Healthy and Active for Life thanks to a FREE new 10-week online program from NSW Health. You will receive weekly online exercise videos to do at your own pace, healthy eating and lifestyle tips, as well as telephone support from a trained coach at a time that suits you. And all from the comfort of your own home. The program starts on Monday 12 October. To register or for more information, call our Health Promotion team on 4320 9700.
NSW Government has produced factsheets to support seniors in staying healthy and staying connected at home that include some handy and practical tips.
Over 70? Do the 7! Click the thumbnail below to download and print a poster with advice on how to stay COVID safe.

Our nutrition booklet for older people and their carers, Eating Well, includes heaps of advice from nutritionists to help you eat the foods you need to maintain weight, muscle strength, bone strength and independence.
NSW Health’s Active and Healthy at Home booklet includes practical tips and information for older adults to stay active, healthy, and connected at home, and includes available services for the elderly. You may also wish to download and print this Active and Healthy at Home flyer, which has some handy tips you can keep close by.
Developed by physiotherapists across Australia, Safe Exercise at Home is a simple-to-navigate website with helpful information and exercises.
The Exercise at Home section on NSW Health’s Active and Healthy website has heaps of simple exercises to improve balance and strength, along with images and videos to demonstrate.

Falls Prevention

While we spend much more time at home than usual, home safety awareness, such as avoiding fall risks and hazards, becomes even more important.

The following resources contain advice and information on how you can stay safe in the home, along with some fun games too.

Download our Falls prevention checklist to help reduce your risk of falling.
Download our Home safety checklist which includes suggestions on how to make your home environment safer.
Play our Falls are preventable wordsearch. Can you find all the words?
Play Spot the Falls Risk. Can you spot all 21 hazards?
Take a look at out our informative poster on What to do if you fall at home. Feel free to print and keep around the house as a reference.
The Clinical Excellence Commission has a number of helpful fact sheets, available in different languages, as part of the NSW Falls Prevention Program, such as:
- Foot care and foot wear to ensure you’re more steady on your feet. This is also available in Italian, Greek, Arabic and other languages.
- Medications advice. This is also available in Italian, Greek, Arabic and other languages.
- Home exercises to improve balance and strength. This is also available in Italian, Tagalog, Greek, Korean, Arabic and other languages.

Alcohol Reduction

As we all come to terms with the challenges presented by COVID-19, it’s important we avoid potentially harmful coping strategies such as excess alcohol consumption.

There are a number of health impacts caused by drinking too much alcohol, which you can read more about in the Alcohol section of this website.

There are some helpful resources out there to support you if you’re struggling during the COVID-19 situation.

*NEW* Want to drink less? Changing your drinking habits is easier with someone in your corner. Did you know you can get support over the phone from your own FREE health coach through NSW Health’s Get Healthy Service? Coaches are friendly and trained to help you change your drinking habits. They will give you practical tools and support you, without judgement, helping you to set achievable goals, make a plan (starting with small steps), and overcome barriers that stand in your way. They will work as a team with you and celebrate your successes with you. To sign up, call 1300 806 258 or click on the image below and complete the simple online form. And if you want to find out more about the dedicated service for pregnant women, click here.

Want to know more about how alcohol impacts your health? Check out Get Healthy at Work’s Alcohol and your Health factsheet. It includes tips on low-risk drinking, information for women pregnant or breastfeeding, advice for men, as well as a number of support and treatment services.
NSW Health has produced a handy document with tips to reduce your alcohol consumption while working from home. There’s also a version for employers too.
Check out this page on Your Room – a joint initiative by NSW Health and St Vincent’s Alcohol and Drug Information Service – which has information, advice, a risk assessment tool and helplines to support you.
The Alcohol and Drug Foundation has a Coping with Coronavirus page that contains a range of helpful links with advice on a number of topics, from relapse and withdrawal, to resources and support services.
The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) has created an online resource with tips, strategies and information on how to limit alcohol use, and groups you can turn to if you need support.