One million UK adults who never smoked now vape

scienceOct 6, 20261238

Office for National Statistics 2025 data show more than one million people in Great Britain who say they have never tried a cigarette now use vapes or e-cigarettes, up from about 940,000 in 2024. People aged 25 to 34 are now the biggest vaping group, with 16.4% using e-cigarettes daily or occasionally, overtaking 16 to 24-year-olds. For the second year running, more over-16s use vapes or e-cigarettes (5.4 million) than smoke cigarettes (4.9 million), with the number of smokers falling from 5.3 million in 2024. The share of people who have never used an e-cigarette fell to 83.0% in 2025 from 83.4% in 2024, and 7.2% reported having used an e-cigarette, up from 6.6%. NHS guidance in the report says vaping is less harmful than smoking but long-term effects are unclear and non-smokers and those aged 17 and under should never vape. David Mais of the ONS said vapers are getting older, which may reflect existing users ageing, growing popularity in that age group, or both, while Hazel Cheeseman of Action on Smoking and Health called the figures encouraging progress and said now is the time to finish the job. New UK legislation taking effect next year will permanently ban legal tobacco sales to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 to create a "smoke-free" generation.

AuThom🎃🏳️‍🌈

@mongreldog.bsky.social

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... truly cannot understand this behaviour, except for kids who were groomed to vape by tobacco companies. absolutely unhinged

264d ago

AuThom🎃🏳️‍🌈15

might fuck around and take up one of the most addictive drugs there is with almost no benefit except avoidance of the withdrawal symptoms of stopping

Enlil2

There's a general perception that it's completely harmless, and people act shocked when I sometimes have an asthmatic response around some vapes and have to escape their puff clouds.

Doomrabbit1

“I’ve never eaten meat, apart from all the sirloin”

Unofficial BBCNews (UK) Bot

@bbcnews-uk-rss.bsky.social

One million UK adults who have never smoked are now vapers

34d ago

Quoting this

Chris L2

Seeing more of them in gig venues, which is fucking annoying.

Simon Ferrigno

@brexcyclopaedia.bsky.social

Tobacco co's should've been banned from entering the market for vapes. They were never going to help people stop smoking, but capture a new market (I stopped smoking with vapes, when vapes were largely a small, start up business sector) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

54d ago

Amanda Jeyaretnam (she/her)

@liberalisms.bsky.social

Particularly, I suspect, Women. They think it looks cool. They think they’re discreet and no-one knows they vape. The vape can be like a fashion accessory. They vape non-stop without a break, worse than chainsmoking.

24d ago

Tiredrich

@tiredrich.bsky.social

Remember when vaping was meant to be a weening tool for smoking? People saw the "healthier alternative to smoking" option and thought great, except it's like exchanging a punch in the head with a swift kick to the bollocks. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

14d ago

Jack London

@jacklondonbluesky.bsky.social

The sheer stupidity of our govts in allowing this entirely avoidable & predictable situation to develop makes my blood boil Vapes should only have been permitted as a prescribed aid to eliminate smoking. We've learnt nothing about addiction since the Elizabethans www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

14d ago

Charles C Cadmus

@carliecad.bsky.social

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... The lungs are very delicate organs, and anybody who thinks that vaping is “safe” will have urgent wake up calls in the future as the impact of a cocktail of chemicals and human biology create as yet untold prognosis for those who consider this habit as trendy.

4d ago

Shared Ground

@sharedground.bsky.social

Zero mention of nicotine. A drug so powerful and addictive that it was issued by the government to help soldiers move towards enemy fire. Nicotine. It is nicotine addiction. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

4d ago

LawNewsIndex.com

@thelawmap.bsky.social

More than a million people who say they have never tried a cigarette are now vapers, latest UK data for 2025 reveals, external - up from around 940,000 in 2024. People aged 25-34 are vaping more than any others, overtaking 16 to 24-year-olds, www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

4d ago

Andy Rowell

@andy-rowell.bsky.social

Another damning statistic that shows that vaping is addicting people to nicotine not acting as a gateway to quitting smoking www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

3d ago

Simon Varwell

@simonvarwell.bsky.social

Like I've always said, it's fundamentally a medicine and should only be available on prescription to those who need them as a smoking cessation aid. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

4d ago

Roger

@plankton1975.bsky.social

This is absolutely nuts… I’ve never smoked, and I find vaping an equally unpleasant concept. We’ve still no idea about the long-term consequences. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

4d ago

1 source

bbc.co.ukOne million UK adults who have never smoked are now vapers

Francis Halzen wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Physicsscience WHO says suspected pneumonic plague case in Russia presents 'very low' riskscience One million UK adults who never smoked now vapescience

One million UK adults who never smoked now vape

Related