The number of adults in England who have reported vaping for more than six months has increased from around one in 80 in 2013 to one in 10 in 2023, according to a new study by UCL.

The study, published in The BMJ, has found that much of this increase had occurred since 2021, coinciding with the rapid rise in popularity of disposable e-cigarettes, especially among young adults.

It was already established that vaping rates had increased substantially in England since disposable e-cigarettes became popular in mid-2021. However, it was unclear how far this reflected an increase in experimental use versus long term (more than six months) use.

The researchers used the data of 179,725 adults taking part in the ‘Smoking Toolkit Study’, a nationally representative survey that collects data on vaping among adults in England each month.

Between October 2013 and October 2023, participants were asked about use of a range of nicotine products, depending on their smoking status.

The results

The study shows that the proportion of adults reporting long-term vaping increased from 1.3 per cent in October 2013 to 10 per cent in October 2023, with a particularly sharp rise from 2021.

This included an increase in long-term daily vaping, from 0.6 per cent to 6.7 per cent.

Sarah Jackson, lead author from the UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, said, “Our results show there has been an exceptionally steep rise in the number of young adults vaping for more than six months since new disposable e-cigarettes were introduced to the market. While most long-term vapers have a history of smoking, rates have also increased among those who have never regularly smoked.”

The increase in long-term vaping occurred predominantly among current and former smokers, but a rise also occurred among those who had never regularly smoked - from less than 0.5 per cent up to March 2021 to three per cent by October 2023.

Growth was more pronounced in young adults (reaching 23 per cent of 18-year-olds vs 4.3 per cent of 65-year-olds) including among those who had never regularly smoked (reaching 16 per cent of 18-year-olds vs 0.3 per cent of 65-year-olds).

Jamie Brown, senior author from the UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, commented, “New vaping policies are needed to curb youth vaping in England but must be balanced to avoid discouraging smokers from using vaping products to quit smoking.

“Policies most likely to achieve this balance may be those focused on retail displays, appealing product design and packaging, product descriptions and cost.”

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