Trends in electronic cigarette use in England.
Vera Buss, Loren Kock, Robert West, Emma Beard, Dimitra Kale, Jamie Brown
Updated 18th July 2024
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.
Vera Buss, Loren Kock, Robert West, Emma Beard, Dimitra Kale, Jamie Brown
Updated 18th July 2024
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, especially among young adults
Use of Juul and heated tobacco products is rare
E-cigarette use by never smokers increased since 2021 but remains relatively rare (~3%) while use among long-term ex-smokers has continued to grow since 2013
E-cigarette use in smokers and recent ex-smokers plateaued between 2013 and 2020 but has grown since
Around half of e-cigarette users and the majority of NRT users are ‘dual users’ (also smoke)
Frequency of use is greatest in ex-smokers
Majority use devices containing nicotine. Later generation devices were more popular than disposable e-cigarettes to 2021; in 2022 disposables rapidly became most popular.
Never smokers are most likely to use disposables and e-liquids with 20mg or more of nicotine. A minority of users did not know the strength
Purchase from specialist vape shops has declined since 2016 as non-specialist purchases have risen. Newsagents are most popular among never smokers
E-cigarette use is most popular with younger people
E-cigarette use is most popular among less advantaged social grades, and they have seen the largest increase since 2021
E-cigarette use among smokers plateaued between 2013 and 2020 but has grown recently
E-cigarette use among recent ex-smokers has declined from a peak in 2016 but has grown recently
E-cigarette use for quitting has declined from a peak in 2016 through to 2020 but has grown recently
The proportion of recent ex-smokers who started using an e-cigarette after quitting declined from a peak in 2015 but has grown recently
There has been a long-term decline in the prevalence of cigarette smoking but it may have stalled since 2020, except in young adults
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 or more harmful than cigarettes
E-cigarette use remained relatively stable between 2013 and 2020 but has increased gradually since 2020, especially among young adults
E-cigarette use by never smokers increased since 2021 but remains relatively rare (~3%); use among long-term ex-smokers has continued to grow since 2013
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 but it may have stalled recently, except in young adults
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