One million people vape despite never smoking regularly

Around one million people now vape despite never having been regular smokers, a study in The Lancet has suggested.

This is a ‘substantial’ increase over the past three years, and one that ‘coincided with the introduction of new disposable e-cigarettes to the UK market’, the authors added.

The research surveyed 153,073 participants across England and found the proportion of vape use had gone from one in 200 in 2021, about 133,000 people, to one in 28 in 2024, or 1,006,000 people.

The authors said increases in vape use have ‘plateaued overall’ since early 2023, but prevalence has continued to rise among those who have never regularly smoked.

They added that the profile of never-regular-smoking adult vapers had also changed since mid-2021, with more women and younger adults taking up vaping. These individuals were also drinking at increasing or higher-risk levels.

The study said: ‘As a result, in 2023–24, most adults who vaped but had never regularly smoked were aged 18–24 years, drinkers, daily vapers, and using higher strength disposables.

‘The timing of the changes we observed coincided with the introduction of new disposable e-cigarettes to the UK market and the subsequent rise in their popularity. Separate studies from our group have shown increases in vaping rates accelerated among current and former smokers over this period, so this pattern is not specific to people who have never regularly smoked.

‘Changes in the profile of never-regular-smoking vapers since disposables started to become popular suggest these devices might be attracting certain groups, including younger adults and women. These devices might also have encouraged people to use higher nicotine strengths.’

The authors added that some have suggested the trend reflects ‘experimental’ use, however that this did not seem to be the case with the data they collected.

‘Although this pattern might have been true before disposables became popular, when vaping was rare among never-regular-smokers, our results indicate that it is now a regular behaviour that persists over time (ie, in 2023–24, 56% of never-regular-smokers who vaped reported daily use and 68% had vaped for more than a year),’ the study said.

‘It is possible that in delivering high-strength nicotine more palatably, newer e-cigarettes could have greater potential to be dependence-forming.’

The study said these findings present a challenge for policy makers, as although there are plans to ban disposable e-cigarettes, it is ‘unlikely to be a panacea as popular brands have already launched reusable products with very similar designs and prices’.

In August, the BMA called for the ban on the manufacture and sale of all disposable vapes due to their harmful impact on children.

The previous government had introduced a Tobacco and Vapes Bill which would have regulated the sale of vapes, that this was not carried forward into the new parliamentary session.

The Labour government has re-introduced a bill to tackle smoking and youth vaping, set out in the King’s Speech, however there are no details yet in terms of what measures this will include.

Meanwhile, new statistics from the Office of National Statistics suggests that rates of adult smoking have fallen to their lowest levels on record.

Paul Rees, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), said it was 'good to see a reduction in levels of smoking'.

'However, central government cuts to local public health budgets has led to some vital stop smoking services being decommissioned in local pharmacies.

'If we are to turbo charge this reduction in the rates of smoking, we need to reverse these cuts and invest in these services in our community pharmacies.

'Pharmacies should also be able to provide a nationally commissioned walk in smoking cessation service, which would end the postcode lottery for accessing support,' he added.

A version article first appeared on our sister publication Healthcare Leader.