Ad scare campaign targets Vic ice users

Take ice and you could lose your friends, your family and your looks.

That's what young Victorians are being told as deaths from methamphetamines have more than doubled within five years, with users increasingly turning to the drug in its most potent form.

An ad campaign targeted at 18 to 29-year-olds will show the rapid descent from casual ice user to full-blown addict.

Mental Health Minister Mary Wooldridge says the "What are you doing on ice?" campaign is based on consultation with young Victorians.

"They wanted an honest conversation about the reality of ice," Ms Wooldridge told reporters on Thursday.

"People do lose friends."

The campaign will be launched on Sunday and will run on television, radio, online and social media.

It shows a young man and a young woman losing friends, family and their looks as their ice use increases.

A Victorian parliamentary committee report says just two per cent of Victorians use methamphetamines.

In this group men aged 20 to 29 are most likely to be using ice.

The ice problem isn't confined to metropolitan areas, with rural towns also showing big increases in harm related to the drug.

Ms Wooldridge said if the coalition government was re-elected in November it would commit $4.7 million to community forums and grants programs to address ice use at a local level.