The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) is alarmed at new data from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) which reveals a worrying increase in the numbers of young people smoking.

The new data reveals that one-in-five 11-17-year-olds have tried vaping, unchanged since 2023, while ever smoking among young people has increased from 14% in 2023 to 21% in 2025.

Vaping prevalence among adults remains at 10.4%, unchanged since 2024, suggesting the growth in uptake has stalled. With around a quarter of adult smokers in GB never having tried vaping, this is an issue which must be urgently addressed.

UKVIA Director General John Dunne said: “The UKVIA has always been clear that under 18s should not be vaping (or smoking for that matter) and it is deeply troubling to see smoking rates rise, particularly after a long period of decline and especially so among under 18s.

“We can’t afford to wait a moment longer to clamp down hard on retailers who sell age-gated products to minors. This is why we need a vape licensing scheme to ensure compliance with the law, put persistent offenders out of business and act as a deterrent to others.

“Enforcement in the UK is patchy at best, fines are woefully low and rogue retailers will continue flouting the law if they think they can get away with it.”

The ASH data on adult vaping trends shows that misperceptions about vaping harms have increased, with 53% of adult smokers believing that vaping is as harmful or more harmful than smoking. The ASH youth survey revealed that 63% of young people have the same misperception – up from 41% in 2022.

John added: “The misperceptions regarding the relative risks of smoking and vaping threaten to derail the government’s smokefree goals and we need a national public health information campaign to set the record straight.

“The rise in youth smoking experimentation should be a wake-up call for the government. Policies must prioritise reducing youth access to all nicotine products and not come at the cost of reversing progress on smoking rates.

“We urge public health authorities to step up efforts to communicate the clear scientific consensus that vaping is significantly less harmful than combustible tobacco use  and remains the UK’s most effective quit aid for adult smokers. Smoking still claims 220 lives every day in the UK and we must bring these numbers down.

“As the UK moves into a new regulatory phase following the ban on single-use vapes, the UKVIA and its members remain committed to working with regulators, trading standards and public health experts to ensure products stay out of children’s hands while remaining accessible and appealing to adult smokers who want to quit.”

On a more positive note, the figures show that 10% of GB adults vape, equal to an estimated 5.5 million people.

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Teen smoking is a key concern, with students being searched and their information reported to schools and political groups if caught. Critics say the campaign is hypocritical, given that Korean President Kim Jong Un is frequently seen smoking publicly. Despite anti-smoking laws passed in 2020, the leader’s own habits are seen as undermining the message.

“There was a crackdown last year too, but this year’s is much tougher. What’s different is that middle school boys are under constant surveillance and their pockets are being searched more frequently,” a source said. “These measures go beyond just restricting behavior. These orders are clearly meant to teach a harsh lesson.”

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For such an offense, businesses can be fined €19,908, putting extra pressure on an industry struggling to stay afloat.

“Why all these checks now, and why such steep fines?” said Željko Pojer, president of the Požega Craftsmen’s Association and a nightclub owner. “The nightlife in Croatia has been dying for a while. A total smoking ban would bring hospitality to its knees. If a full ban comes in, most of us will have to shut down and let our staff go.”

Last year, the European Commission floated the idea of banning smoking in outdoor spaces too, but hospitality and hotel sectors pushed back hard, and the proposal fizzled out. Pojer argues that the industry’s survival hinges on flexibility, not stricter rules.

“When we brought in our smoking ban years ago, everyone saw it wouldn’t work,” he said. “Businesses collapsed. That’s why we got these exceptions for smoking areas.” 

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The study showed that 37 percent of people used tobacco products in January of this year, four percentage points higher than the previous year. In two years, the number of tobacco users has increased by 12 percent.

Of all tobacco users, 74 percent smoke cigarettes, an increase of 6 percent from January 2023.

Hrvatski Duhani, a BAT-owned company, purchased more than 4,500 tonnes of tobacco last year from 250 growers in the Podravina and Slavonia regions, marking a 41 percent increase from 2023. According to Hrvatski Duhani, the company paid tobacco producers more than €20 million last year.

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U.S. cigarette smoking dropped to another all-time low last year, with one in 9 adults saying they were current smokers, according to government survey data released April 27. Meanwhile, electronic cigarette use rose, to about one in 17 adults.

The preliminary findings from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are based on survey responses from more than 27,000 adults.

Last year, the percentage of adult smokers dropped to about 11 percent, down from about 12.5 percent in 2020 and 2021. The survey findings are sometimes revised after further analysis, and the CDC is expected to release final 2021 data soon.

E-cigarette use rose to nearly 6 percent last year, from about 4.5 percent the year before, according to survey data.

The post As Smoking Declines, More Adults Switching first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

U.S. President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address stated that cutting smoking rates in order to prevent cancer deaths is a main goal of his “Cancer Moonshot” program.

According to Biden, the administration’s goal is to cut cancer deaths by half in the next 25 years. In order to do so, one of the aims is to “help people avoid smoking in the first place and support Americans who want to quit.” He noted that “While we have made progress, tobacco products still hook too many young people at an early age and take control away from individual Americans to make the decision not to smoke. The administration is working to put that control back in the hands of Americans.”

“We’re going to continue to focus on prevention,” said Danielle Carnival, the White House “Cancer Moonshot” coordinator. “We’re committed to continuing to use authorities and programs to keep making progress.”

Prior to the State of the Union, some conservative commentators had complained about a “war on cigarettes.” After the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced its plan to ban menthol cigarettes, Fox News host Tucker Carlson claimed that nicotine “frees your mind,” according to Business Insider. Biden first launched the “Cancer Moonshot” program in 2015 while he served as vice president. He renewed the program last year.

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