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A new ASH survey for 2024 has revealed new statistics for youth vaping and adult vaping in the wake of the disposable vapes ban.
The latest Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) survey data, conducted in February/ March of 2024, has shown a plateau in the amount of British youths vaping. Though underage vaping (11-17 years) jumped from 3% in 2021 to 7.6% in 2023, there has been no increase since.
The ASH survey also illuminated statistics regarding adult vaping trends. In 2024, 11% of British adults are e-cigarette users, which is an all time high. 53% of these vapers are ex-smokers.
The amount of British adults who vape has been steadily increasing over the past decade, going from 2.7% in 2013 to 9.1% in 2023. Despite this, there are still more smokers than vape users, with 13% of British adults still using traditional cigarettes.
In addition to youth vaping plateauing, 18.4% of children had tried vaping, down from 20.5% in 2023. Although, 2024 had been the first year on record where the rate of regular use of vapes has been higher than the rate of occasional use.
This year has seen the introduction of the disposable vapes ban and the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which both aim to curb the strong uptake in youth vaping since the pandemic. In addition to banning disposable vapes, the UK government will be regulating vape flavours and standardising packaging in order to make e-cigarettes less appealing to children.
In a press release, ASH stated: “Despite the apparent slowing in youth vaping uptake, there is no room for complacency. The proportion of current vaping among 11-17-year-olds is still significantly up from pre-pandemic levels (7.6% in 2024 compared to 4.4% in 2019).
“Exposure to vape marketing remains high among young people; only 19% say they don’t see vapes being promoted. Young people are most likely to see vapes promoted in shops (55%) followed by online (29%). TikTok is where 11-17-year-olds most frequently report seeing online promotion.”
Whereas adults mostly buy their vapes online (32%), or from a vape shop (29%), children aged 11-17 are most likely to buy vapes from small shops (21%), such as corner shops and newsagents.
27% of underage vapers buy from an informal source, such as a friend, while 52% are given their vapes by someone else.
ASH notes that better enforcement of age restrictions and proxy purchase is essential.
29% of UK youths are aware of vape advertising, with TikTok being the most likely source of advertising. 52% of those who are aware of vape advertising have been exposed through TikTok.
YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat follow as the platforms with the most seen vape advertisement.
One in five 11-17 year olds said they did not see vapes advertised, a figure which has dropped from 31% in 2022 to 19% in 2024.
Vape promotion appeared highest in stores, where 55% of youths were aware of adverts. This has dramatically increased since 2022, where only 37% of children were aware of vape advertisements in shops.
Both Cancer Research UK and the NHS acknowledge vaping as a useful means to stop smoking, due to e-cigarettes being less harmful and containing far less toxins than tobacco cigarettes.
However, the 2024 ASH survey found that adult perceptions of vaping harm have worsened significantly.
In 2022, 32% of UK adult smokers believed that vapes were a lot more or just as harmful as smoking. 2024 has seen this rise to 50% of all adult smokers.
Only 33% of adult smokers believe vapes to be less harmful than cigarette smoking.
Similarly, 31% of youths believe vaping to be less harmful than smoking, while 58% believe it's just as harmful, if not more.
Hazel Cheeseman, Deputy Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said: “The Tobacco and Vapes Bill includes the powers needed to bring youth vaping down and must be enacted swiftly. However, getting adults to quit smoking is important for children’s health too. The evidence has grown that vaping is less harmful than smoking, but public understanding has gone in the other direction.
“It is to be hoped that 2024 can be a turning point and youth vaping will fall, alongside an improvement in public understanding about the role vaping can play in helping the UK’s 6 million smokers stop.”
Cigarette smoking is the biggest cause of cancer in the UK and around the globe, and contains at least 70 cancer causing chemicals. The ingredients found in vapes are not linked to any cancer causing chemicals.
It is quite shocking that half of all adult smokers believe vapes to be as harmful or more harmful, and underlines how little is still known publicly about e-cigarettes.
Whether the disposable ban and the Tobacco and Vapes Bill achieve their goals or not remains to be seen, but it is evident that their presence in the media has swayed public opinion on vaping dramatically.
The good news is that this hasn’t seemed to deter British adults, who now vape at an all time high, with most vapers being ex-smokers and 4 in 10 being smokers who also use vapes.
We can only hope that youth vaping continues to lull and decrease.
A storyteller till the end, Charlie is a true Londoner with style and writing flair. Carrying a journalism degree under his belt with experience writing for a variety of businesses, Charlie makes sure to hold his words to a high standard everywhere he goes. Although not an out and out vaper himself, Charlie's passion lies in helping smokers quit and move into the electronic age. Other than his journalistic work, Charlie can be found on tennis courts or in boxing gyms around the capital.