According to estimates, there are currently 4.3 million e-cigarette users, up from roughly 800,000 ten years ago.
According to a survey, the number of people who regularly vape has climbed significantly over the past ten years, reaching record levels in Great Britain, where there are currently about 4.3 million vapers.
According to the data, there are now 8.3% of adults (or almost 800,000 adults) in Wales, Scotland, and England who vape than the 1.7% ten years ago. The organization that published the report, Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), said that a “vaping revolution” had occurred over the previous ten years.
Ash’s deputy CEO, Hazel Cheeseman, termed the rise in smokers opting for vaping “great news.”
“For people who are trying to quit, these can be lifesaving tools. However, vaping alone won’t be able to completely address the issue of smoking. As vaping won’t be effective for everyone, we must address the current rise in young vaping and implement broader strategies to address smoking. The moment is now for government action,” she declared.
350,000 of the 4.3 million vapers have never smoked a cigarette, while 2.4 million former smokers and 1.5 million current smokers are among the other users. The last group, according to Cheeseman, tended to vape “rarely” and “experimentally.”
The study found that young people were increasingly using e-cigarettes, with 18 to 24-year-olds accounting for 11% of all users in 2022. This has risen from the 5% vaping rate in 2021, which was the lowest. The rate of individuals 55 years and above is now the lowest at 5.9%.
Even though it is against the law to sell vapes to those under the age of 18, Cheeseman said she was worried about this, especially in light of earlier data showing an increase in vaping among youngsters between the ages of 11 and 17 (from 4% in 2020 to 7% in 2022). Research also demonstrates that as vaping rises, smoking is declining.
According to the study, 28% of current smokers had never tried vaping, with 21% stating they did not want to switch from one addiction to another. The study is based on Ash’s annual Smokefree GB survey which targeted over 13,000 adults from around Great Britain and was carried out by YouGov. Twenty-three percent of respondents felt that vaping was not comparable to smoking enough, and ten percent expressed concern that e-cigarettes were “not safe enough.”
According to the report’s authors, a third of adults indicated they thought vaping was more dangerous than smoking or just as risky.
35% of cigarette smokers also vaped in 2022. Within this group, everyday vapers smoked fewer cigarettes than occasional users.
More than half (56%) of ex-smokers reported using a vape for more than three years, yet one in five former smokers claimed they used one to help them stop.
A majority of vapers claimed they used e-cigarettes to stop smoking and to keep from starting again, while 14% stated it was for enjoyment and 11% said it was to save cash.
In the UK, smoking is waning in popularity. In England, smoking prevalence among persons aged 18 and over decreased from 20% to 14% between 2011 and 2019, according to data from the annual population survey. According to the Ash report, in 2017, e-cigarette use contributed to an additional 69,930 ex-smokers in England.
