Trends in electronic cigarette use in England.
Loren Kock, Robert West, Emma Beard, Dimitra Kale, Jamie Brown
Updated 21st July 2022
Smoking in England is the portal through which major findings from the Smoking Toolkit Study and other national data are made available to policy makers, clinicians, researchers, journalists and the general public. Details on the methods are at the bottom of this page
Trends in electronic cigarette use in England.
Loren Kock, Robert West, Emma Beard, Dimitra Kale, Jamie Brown
Updated 21st July 2022
Electronic cigarette use has become prevalent in many countries
In England, electronic cigarettes are currently regulated as consumer products
It is important to track use of electronic cigarettes and assess how far they appear to be promoting or detracting from reduction in prevalence of cigarette smoking
To track use of electronic cigarettes over time and assess how far any increase is accompanied by changes in:
To assess prevalence of use of electronic cigarettes in people who have never smoked regularly or stopped for more than a year
To estimate changes in the total tobacco and nicotine market
Monthly household surveys
Each month involves a new representative sample (16 and over) of ~1800 respondents; smokers ~450
Data collected on e-cigarettes since second quarter 2011
Fidler, et al., 2011. 'The smoking toolkit study': a national study of smoking and smoking cessation in England. BMC Public Health 11:479
Use of e-cigarettes in adults has increased gradually since 2020
Use of Juul and heated tobacco products is rare
E-cigarette use by never smokers remains rare but use among long-term ex-smokers has grown
E-cigarette use in smokers and recent ex-smokers has plateaued
Around half of e-cigarette users and the majority of NRT users are ‘dual users’ (also smoke)
Frequency of use among users is greater in ex-smokers
The majority contain nicotine and later generation devices are more popular with ex-smokers
Ex-smokers use e-liquids with stronger concentrations of nicotine. A minority of smokers did not know the strength
Purchase from specialist vape shops has declined since 2016 as non-specialist and online purchases have risen
E-cigarette use is least popular with older smokers while NRT use is lower among younger smokers
Use of e-cigarettes in past-year smokers was initially more popular among higher, but is now similar across, social grades
E-cigarette use has plateaued among smokers
E-cigarette use among recent ex-smokers has declined from a peak in 2016
E-cigarette use for quitting has declined from a peak in 2016
The proportion of recent ex-smokers who started using an e-cigarette declined from a peak in 2015
The long-term decline in the prevalence of cigarette smoking continues
The smoking cessation rate, and the success rate in those who have tried to stop smoking, increased after 2011 before plateauing until a further increase in 2020
The rate at which smokers have tried to stop in the past year decreased from 2015 before increasing in 2020
The largest proportion of current smokers believe e-cigarettes are equally harmful as cigarettes
E-cigarette use has remained relatively stable since 2013
Current use of e-cigarettes by never smokers remains very rare and similar to use of licensed nicotine products; use among long-term ex-smokers appears to be increasing
Growth in e-cigarette use has been accompanied by a reduction in use of licensed nicotine products and prescription medication but the trajectories appear to be different
There has been a long-term decline in the prevalence of cigarette smoking since 2007
The trajectories for smoking prevalence and quit attempts differ from that of prevalence of use of e-cigarettes
Success rates in stopping smoking increased after 2011 and again in 2020