The number of people who vape in the UK has risen to its highest level since records began, according to new government figures.
The Office for National Statistics’ annual report into smoking prevalence in the UK shows the number of UK adults who smoke has fallen below 14% for the first time in years.
In 2014, when data on the number of UK vapers started being collected, 3.7% of the population reported using e-cigarettes. In 2020 that had risen to 6.4%, equivalent to around 3.3m people.
The report also reveals that the number of adult smokers in the UK currently stands at 13.8% of the population – its lowest percentage since at least 2015.
However, according to the ONS monthly data, smoking rates rose sharply during the pandemic and national lockdown to a peak of 16.3% in August, before slowly decreasing to 13.8% by the end of 2020.
John Dunne, Director General of the UK Vaping Industry Association, said: “While this rise in smoking prevalence during lockdown could be attributed to increased anxiety because of the pandemic, I would also point towards the fact that speciality vape shops were not granted ‘essential retail’ status and therefore had to close their doors as another significant contributing factor.”
Dunne added: “This is a hugely welcome announcement as everyone on the side of harm reduction knows that vaping is far less harmful than smoking – by as much as 95% according to the former health protection watchdog Public Health England – so more people vaping and less smoking can only be cause for celebration.”
The ONS Smoking Prevalence Report highlighted that the number of ex-smokers who now vape had risen from 11.7% in 2019 to 12.3%, while the number of smokers who also vape increased from 15.5% in 2019 to 17.8% in 2020.
