Vaping surge among young non-smokers: A growing concern?
New study shows over one million people vape but have never regularly smoked.
Recent studies have highlighted a concerning trend in England where vaping is becoming increasingly prevalent among individuals who have never regularly smoked.
As of 2024, over one million people fall into this category, marking a significant rise from previous years.
Analysis of the Vaping Data
According to a study led by University College London (UCL) published in The Lancet Public Health journal, there has been a sharp rise in the proportion of adults who have never regularly smoked but now use e-cigarettes, increasing from one in 200 (about 133,000 people) to one in 28 (1,006,000 people).
The Office for National Statistics supports these findings, showing that approximately 5.1 million people in Britain, which accounts for about 10% of the population aged 16 or over, are now using e-cigarettes, with the highest rates found among those aged 16 to 24.
Government and Regulatory Responses
The UK government is considering measures such as banning disposable vapes however prominent brands have already started offering reusable products that are similar in design and cost to disposables.
Comment by Allen Carr’s Easyway
At Allen Carr’s Easyway, every year we see thousands of smokers and thousands of vapers who we help to freedom with our drug free one day seminar.
The increasing number of people addicted to only vaping over the last ten years is of significant concern particularly the growth in number of young people.
We’ve been warning for years that non-smokers especially young people will get drawn into nicotine addiction as a result of lack of regulation and so
Vaping is often thought of as less harmful than smoking but young people and non-smokers, due to marketing and mixed messaging, often think it is harmless.
Yet, there are mental and physical effects of vaping that anyone considering vaping needs to be aware of.
Nicotine is highly addictive and studies show that vaping affects young people’s brain and lung development in devastating ways.
In terms of policy and taxation, more needs to be done to educate people especially young people that vaping is not harmless as well as regulate access to all vapes, regulating the way they are marketed and helping all smokers and vapers that have fallen into the nicotine trap to find freedom.
That is why we have created a new mini-site to help young people.
Allen Carr’s Easyway to Quit Vaping provides a proven, effective, easy solution to getting free from cigarettes without the need to switch to vaping and remaining a nicotine addict.
John Dicey the Global CEO from Allen Carr’s Easyway was also invited onto the BBC Radio 5 Live program to discuss his thoughts, which you can see here.
