One million people who never regularly smoked now vape, study shows

There has been a sevenfold increase in 'never smokers' vaping since 2021, when disposable e-cigarettes first became popular. Most vape daily and have done so for a sustained period

One million people who never regularly smoked now vape, new research shows.

A national review by University College London has revealed a sevenfold increase in "never smokers" vaping since 2021, when disposable e-cigarettes first became popular. Most vape daily and have done for a sustained period. This increase was largely driven by young adults, with an estimated one in seven 18 to 24-year-olds who never regularly smoked now using e-cigarettes.

Researchers say some young people who would have previously started smoking have taken up e-cigarettes. They concluded that, among the adult population in England overall, the rise in vaping had levelled off since early 2023.

Author Professor Jamie Brown said: “These findings are a reminder that action is required to try to minimise vaping among young people who have never previously smoked. However, a balancing act is required to avoid deterring smokers from using e-cigarettes to quit. A sensible next step would be to introduce stricter regulation around product appearance, packaging and marketing.”

The study looked at survey data collected between 2016 and 2024 from 153,000 adults in England, of whom 94,107 had never regularly smoked tobacco. In the King's Speech in July, ministers promised to table a Tobacco and Vapes Bill to progressively increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes, similar to a Bill of the same name tabled by the previous Conservative administration earlier this year - to ban shopkeepers from selling cigarettes to anybody born in 2009 or later.

The study authors said banning disposable vapes, as the UK Government currently plans, is not likely to fix the problem as some brands have already launched reusable products. Before 2021, the proportion of never-regular-smokers who vaped in England was low, at an average of 0.5 per cent between 2016 and 2020. This increased to 3.5 per cent by April 2024, equating to about a million vapers.

Among these 588,000 were aged between 18 and 24, the study found. Lead author Dr Sarah Jackson said: “The public health impact of this substantial rise in vaping among people who have never regularly smoked will depend on what these people would otherwise be doing.

“It is likely that some would have smoked if vaping were not an available option. In this case, vaping is clearly less harmful. However, for those who would not have gone on to smoke, vaping regularly over a sustained period poses more risk than not vaping.”