Vape sales continued to grow in October fuelled by the annual Stoptober campaign and budget concerns.
By Gaelle Walker
The UK’s dynamic vape market enjoyed a further boost last month as the annual Stoptober campaign sought to inspire smokers to kick the habit and bin their butts.
Returning for the 11th year in a row, Stoptober 2022 zeroed in on the cost-saving and health-boosting benefits of quitting smoking, with reputable vape devices from trusted retailers highlighted as one of the most effective mediums for doing so.
The campaign also sought to debunk the many myths and misconceptions that continue to dog the vape category, in a bid to help adult smokers work out “what’s true and what’s not”.
The campaign took great pains to highlight that nicotine vaping was “substantially less harmful than smoking,” as well as being “one of the most effective tools for quitting smoking” – a message which was also strongly reinforced by the first vaping evidence review published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) in early October.
Building on evidence previously highlighted by Public Health England, the latest vaping review concluded that “vaping poses only a small fraction of the risks of smoking”.
Communicating this message formed a key part of many vape brand and retailer communication strategies during the Stoptober campaign.
Aky Hojeij, Associate Marketing Director at RELX International, which launched its new RELX bar in May, said: “Stoptober has grown in recent years to become one of the key annual campaigns for local retailers, as it presents an opportunity to engage with a new market of existing adult smokers, who are looking for alternatives to combustible cigarettes.
“As consumer demand for convenience in the vaping sector increases, brands which specialise in and offer a wide variety of disposables and closed-pod devices led the way during Stoptober this year.
“Over the month-long period, retailers experienced increased footfall, as adult consumers looked for alternatives and advice on new next-gen products.
“Stoptober trends this year were also partly driven by the cost-of-living crisis, which made it more important than ever before for retailers to ensure their range was affordable for all budgets,” he added.
- The proportion of vapers who also smoke has been declining since 2012, from 91.9% to 49.8% in 2020.
- Fruit (35.3%), menthol/mint (22.5%) and tobacco (20.9%) remain the most popular flavours among vapers.
- Between April 2020 and March 2021, quit attempts in stop smoking services that involved using a vaping product achieved short-term success rates of 64.9%.
With a current estimated value of £1.2bn and expected to reach £1.47bn in the next three years, according to Imperial Tobacco, it’s certainly clear to see why. Around 35% of current vaping volume sales currently take place in the convenience channel, making it more important than ever for retailers to ensure that they are stocking the right type and size of range to best meet local needs.
While closed pod and basic open systems continue to account for the largest share of the total market at 35% each, the disposables category remains the fastest-growing segment of the market, having doubled its share from 5% to 10% in the last year according to Imperial.
“Recent figures show that the pre-filled pods category has grown to be worth around a whopping £558m, with the e-liquids category worth £355m,” Imperial’s Head of Consumer Marketing Tom Gully says.
“This provides a huge sales opportunity for retailers. To effectively tap into this opportunity, retailers need to ensure they are selling a wide range of pre-filled pods and e-liquids in a variety of flavours and nicotine strengths, including nicsalts like myblu Intense, to ensure they have products on offer that can attract and meet the needs of different customers.”
The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has called on the Scottish government to “go back to the drawing board” with its proposal to tighten advertising restrictions on vaping.
The call comes following the recent publication of the outcomes of the government’s consultation on the idea of tightening rules on the advertising and promotion of vaping products.
The feedback from the consultation showed that there was no majority of support for the government recommendations.
UKVIA Director General John Dunne said: “Following the feedback, we hope that the Scottish Government sees sense and goes back to the drawing board on their proposals, listens to the experts and speaks to the millions of adults no longer smoking. Only by working with others, following the evidence and listening to people’s testimonies can we succeed in the goal of tobacco harm reduction.”
