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  • New ASH data showing a rise in youth smoking is ‘deeply troubling’ says UK Vaping Industry Association

    New ASH data showing a rise in youth smoking is ‘deeply troubling’ says UK Vaping Industry Association

    PRESS RELEASE

    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.

  • Underage Vaping Nearly Doubles in U.K.

    Underage Vaping Nearly Doubles in U.K.

    Photo: Oleg

    Current vaping among U.K. children aged 11-17 was up from 4 percent in 2020 to 7 percent in 2022, according to the annual YouGov youth survey for Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) carried out in March and published on July 7. The proportion of children who admit ever having tried vaping has also risen from 14 percent in 2020 to 16 percent in 2022.

    Disposable e-cigarettes are now the most used product among current vapers, up more than seven-fold from 7 percent in 2020 and 8 percent in 2021, to 52 percent in 2022. Elf Bar and Geek Bar are overwhelmingly the most popular, with only 30 percent of current users having tried any other brands.

    Over the past year there has been growing concern about the increasing popularity of disposable vapes with young people, but this is the first time national figures have been available to show the scale of the change. ASH said the increase in vaping shown by the survey is a cause for concern, and needs close monitoring. However, 92 percent of under 18s who’ve never smoked, have also never vaped, the organization pointed out—and only 2 percent have vaped more frequently than once or twice.

    “Just to give it a try” is still the most common reason given by never smokers for using an e-cigarette (65 percent). For young smokers the most common reason for using an e-cigarette was “because I like the flavors” (21 percent) followed by “I enjoy the experience” (18 percent) then “just to give it a try” (15 percent),  but they also said, “because I’m trying to quit smoking” (11 percent) or “I use them instead of smoking” (9 percent). Fruit flavors remain the most popular (57 percent).

    Vaping behavior is strongly age related, with 10 percent of 11-15 year olds ever having tried vaping, compared to 29 percent of 16 and 17 year olds (the figures for those currently vaping are 4 percent and 14 percent respectively).  And while underage vaping has risen, underage smoking is lower than it was in 2020 (14 percent in 2022 compared to 16 percent in 2020).

    For the first time this year the survey asked about awareness of promotion of e-cigarettes. Over half (56 percent) of 11-17 year olds reported being aware of e-cigarette promotion, most frequently in shops, or online, with awareness highest amongst those who’d ever vaped (72 percent). Tik Tok was the most frequently cited source of online promotion (45 percent) followed by Instagram (31 percent).

    In response to the survey results, the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) called for a range of get-tough measures to crack down on unscrupulous retailers who sell vapes to young people.

    “The UKVIA understands the need for the right balance between supporting adult smokers to quit without encouraging take up amongst under-18s and ‘never-smokers,’” said UKVIA’s Director General John Dunne in a statement.

    In a letter to the Department for Health and Social Care, the UKVIA proposed a set of recommendations to come down hard on those who sell vapes to minors while maintaining vaping’s critical role for helping smokers to quit, including  fines of £10,000 ($11,897) and a national retail licensing scheme.