London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Vaping reaches record levels in Great Britain, report reveals

Vaping reaches record levels in Great Britain, report reveals

Estimated 4.3 million people using e-cigarettes, up from about 800,000 a decade ago in ‘vaping revolution’

Vaping has risen rapidly over the past decade to reach record levels in Great Britain with an estimated 4.3 million people who are regular vapers, according to a report.

The data suggests 8.3% of adults in England, Wales and Scotland vape, up from 1.7% a decade ago, which equated to about 800,000 people. Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), which produced the report, said a “vaping revolution” had taken place over the past decade.

Hazel Cheeseman, Ash’s deputy chief executive, said the increase in smokers switching to vaping was “great news”.

“They can be lifesaving tools for those struggling to quit. At the same time, we can’t rely on vaping to fully solve the problem of smoking. We must address the recent increase in youth vaping and put in place wider efforts to address smoking as vaping won’t work for everyone. The time for government action is now,” she said.


Of the 4.3 million vapers, about 2.4 million are ex-smokers, 1.5 million current smokers and 350,000 have never smoked a cigarette. Cheeseman said vaping among the last group tended to be “rare” and “experimental”.

The report showed e-cigarettes were becoming especially popular among young people, with 18- to 24-year-olds the biggest consumers in 2022, at 11%. This has grown since 2021, when they had the lowest vaping rate at 5%. People 55 and over now have the lowest rate, at 5.9%.

Cheeseman said she was concerned by this, especially after earlier research showed vaping among children aged 11 to 17 was up from 4% in 2020 to 7% in 2022, although it is illegal to sell vapes to under-18s. However, research also shows smoking is going down as vaping increases.

The report, which is based on Ash’s annual Smokefree GB survey of more than 13,000 adults from across Great Britain, conducted by YouGov, found 28% of current smokers had never tried an e-cigarette, with 21% saying they did not want to substitute one addiction for another. Twenty-three per cent thought vaping was not similar enough to smoking and 10% said they were “concerned e-cigarettes are not safe enough”.

A third of adults said they believed vaping was more, or equally harmful, as smoking, which the report’s authors said was incorrect.

In 2022, 35% of current vapers also smoked. Among this group, those who vaped daily smoked fewer cigarettes than those who did so less frequently.
One in five former smokers said they used a vape to help them quit, but more than half (56%) who are ex-smokers said they had been vaping for more than three years.

Vapers said the main reason they used e-cigarettes was for quitting smoking and to prevent them from returning to smoking, while 14% said they used vapes because they enjoyed it and 11% to save money.

Smoking is becoming less popular in the UK. Data from the annual population survey found smoking prevalence among adults aged 18 and over in England declined from 20% to 14% between 2011 and 2019. The Ash report found e-cigarettes were responsible for an estimated 69,930 additional former smokers in England in 2017.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×