April 16, 2025

expert reaction to study looking at vaping rates in Britain

A study published in Addiction looks at changes in vaping trends in Britain. 

Prof Caitlin Notley, Professor of Addiction Sciences, Norwich Medical School, UEA, said:

“This study presents an exploratory analysis of data from the Smoking Toolkit Study, an ongoing monthly cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of adults (≥16 years) in Great Britain.  It reports that levels of vaping overall have stabilised, and that there has been a decline in use of disposable vapes by both adults and young adults in the last year, since the announcement of the forthcoming ban on disposable vapes. The study is well conducted and draws on a large dataset, so can be considered to accurately reflect what is happening currently in the UK population.  The study is cross-sectional, so cannot determine causality, but it seems likely that the observed reduction in use of disposable vapes may in part be due to people being aware of the forthcoming ban, but also probably a reflection of market changes.  The vape market has rapidly adapted, and already disposables are being displaced by simple reusable devices, which have many of the same attractive features (size, colour, flavours) of disposable devices, but allow recharging.

“It is good news that vaping prevalence overall has stablished while we continue to see a decline in population level tobacco smoking.  As many people vaping will be ex-smokers, this suggests that we may be seeing a levelling off of vaping by people who have never smoked.  This is clearly an important trend to monitor, as the public health goal is to encourage people away from harmful tobacco smoking, by vaping if it is helpful, but to also to discourage people who have never smoked from taking up vaping.

“The study suggests that the forthcoming disposable vape ban may have already had an impact and any additional impact once it comes in may be limited, as people appear to have pre-emptively changed the products they are using knowing the ban was coming.  There is a need for ongoing research to evaluate how the policy change, once fully enforced, influences behaviour.”

‘Changes in vaping trends since the announcement of an impending ban on disposable vapes: A population study in Great Britain’ by Sarah E. Jackson et al. was published in Addiction at 00:01 UK time on Wednesday 16 April 2025.

DOI: 10.1111/add.70057

Declared interests

Prof Caitlin Notley: “I have no COIs to declare.”