Nearly 3 million people in Britain have quit smoking with a vape in the last 5 years

New data from health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) finds that vapes have been the most popular aid to quitting among those who have successfully stopped smoking in the last 5 years [1]. Their latest survey found that overall 5.6 million adults currently vape, 53% who whom have stopped smoking, 39% are still smoking and 8% have never smoked.

Among all those who stopped smoking in the last 5 years just over half report they used a vape to quit equating to 2.7 million people. Of those a third have also stopped vaping and the average duration of their vaping was a year.

There is now well established [3] evidence that vaping is an effective aid to quitting smoking and less harmful than smoking [4] but this new data shows the scale of quitting linked to smoking in recent years.

ASH is calling for a new Tobacco and Vapes Bill to be reintroduced urgently in order to address the levels of teenage vaping [2] but are urging policy makers to ensure that regulations do not undermine the value of vapes as an aid for those smoking.

Their survey evidence also shows high levels of public misperceptions about vaping with half of adults believing that vaping is as or more harmful than smoking when it is in fact much less harmful.

Hazel Cheeseman, Deputy Chief Executive of ASH:
“Millions of people have used vapes to successfully stop smoking in recent years, increasing healthy life expectancy and improving the nation’s productivity. Tougher vape regulations are urgently needed, but it is important they are calibrated to address youth vaping while not deterring use of vapes as quitting aids. Smoking is still the country’s biggest preventable killer and vaping is one of many tools needed to help smokers quit if we are to create a smokefree country for current as well as future generations. Government must also communicate more effectively that vaping is less harmful than smoking but not risk free, and should only be used as an aid to quitting.”

Michael Hughes, 58, from Ashton-under-Lyne in Tameside, started smoking when he was just eight years old. He smoked for almost fifty years until a lung scan revealed he had Emphysema, a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) caused by permanent damage to the lungs. He said:
“I had tried to stop smoking several times before, but this time I was determined to quit. I got support through the NHS Stop Smoking helpline and I was given an inhalator and patches. I found the inhalator really good, but I did find stopping smoking tricky at first and I kept having the odd cigarette. Then someone recommended I try switching to a vape and by January 2023 I had stopped smoking altogether. I found switching to a vape really easy, and I’ve now been smokefree for over a year. I’ll always be short of breath, but I’ve noticed other benefits since quitting smoking, such as my skin is better, my teeth and gums are healthier, and I feel better in myself.”

Paul, an NHS research nurse from Yorkshire started smoking at 17. He tried to quit before but had gone back to smoking and then accessed support from City of York Health Trainers based in the local hospital:
“I was offered a free vape to help me quit and was surprised when I learned how effective they are as a quit tool. The vape massively helped with the transition to becoming smoke free. I worked with my stop smoking advisor and adapted my old routines and habits. Initially I convinced myself that the vape was just a different form of cigarette – this thought process really helped in the early days. I was reassured that vapes are 95% less harmful than smoking cigarettes.

“Two years on and I feel amazing; breathing, moving, and smelling much better! I believe the vape was instrumental to my success - I still use the free vape the service gave me, and at times it has really been my friend, and I am proud to say I’ve never touched tobacco again.”

Prof Sanjay Agrawal, Royal College of Physicians special advisor on tobacco and a consultant in respiratory and critical care medicine at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust:
“In the last few years almost all the patients I see who manage to quit smoking do so through vaping and without it I fear many of them would not have. Vapes are already being used by stop smoking services and NHS support for smokers but they could be used more widely in our efforts to help the millions still smoking quit.”

Dr Ruth Sharrock, Consultant Respiratory Physician, Clinical Lead for Tobacco, Lung Cancer and Health Inequalities, NCA, NENC ICS:
“In the North East of England we have been able to use vapes as an invaluable part of the strategy to help smokers to quit smoking. They are the most common quit aid chosen by both hospital patients and staff members who are dependent on tobacco. Transitioning to a vastly safer form of nicotine, without the thousands of chemicals in burned tobacco, feels like a really positive step for them. One patient described their Swap to Stop vape as a being 'like a free upgrade' rather than the 'punishment' of asking them to try to quit smoking. I hope better awareness of the benefits they can bring to people who currently smoke, enables many more people to try them.”

Kerry Apedaile, Specialist Tobacco Dependence Service Lead at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust:
“We find that vapes are a really important tool to help us support people who are admitted to our hospitals, where they cannot smoke.

“Many of our patients don’t want to use nicotine replacement therapy like patches, gum, or inhalators, but are much more open to using a vape to temporarily stop smoking during their hospital stay. Vapes help people to feel more in control of their nicotine withdrawal. The fact that a vape occupies your hands also allows people to continue the hand to mouth habitual behaviour they had with smoking, but without most of the toxic chemicals. We do risk assess all patients before offering vapes as a nicotine replacement option.

“Patients with serious mental health conditions are often the forgotten group when it comes to helping people quit smoking. Even though the number of smokers in the general population has fallen significantly, smoking levels among people with serious mental health problems have remained relatively steady.

“Vaping offers a much better chance for our patients to finally quit smoking successfully, so it’s important that vapes are accessible to patients within mental health settings. I’ve seen firsthand the difference it can make, helping people who have smoked for decades to quit.”

The analysis of new data has been peer reviewed by experts from King’s College London and University College London. Commenting on the data they added:

Professor Leonie Brose, Professor of Addictions Public Health, from King’s College London:
“We urgently need to tackle the increase in dangerous misperceptions. More than half of people who smoke long-term will die prematurely due to smoking. Alarmingly, half of those who smoke think vaping is just as harmful or more harmful and almost as many are unaware that nicotine-containing medication is less harmful than smoking. These misperceptions are costing lives and we need continued focus on reducing the harms from smoking.”

Professor Lion Shahab, Professor of Health Psychology, from University College London:
“The latest ASH results underline the important role e-cigarettes play in helping smokers stop, being used in half of successful quit attempts. Given increasing long-term use of e-cigarettes among ex-smokers, they also likely help maintain abstinence, while co-use with cigarettes may encourage further quit attempts among smokers. Overall, this use pattern provides a clear indication that e-cigarettes contribute to the eradication of combustible cigarettes in Great Britain, and public health policy should be aligned with this outcome.”

Dr Katherine East, King’s College London:
“The 2024 ASH data show vaping among adults has increased in the past year and the main reasons for vaping are to quit, reduce, or remain abstinent from smoking. The majority of adults who have quit smoking in Great Britain used a vape in their last quit attempt. Quitting smoking is one of the best things a person who smokes can do for their health, and the latest ASH data show the importance that vapes can have on this journey.”

The survey also found a growing group of ex-smokers vaping longer term with half vaping for more than 3 years. Since 2021 there has also been an increase in the numbers of never smokers vaping with an estimated 8% of vapers reporting they have never smoked, around 440k people. While for some of these long-term ex-smokers and never smokers vaping may be helping them to avoid going back or starting to smoke, the charity also says we should not be complacent about this use.

Hazel Cheeseman added:
“Long term vaping among people who would otherwise not be smoking should be avoided on a precautionary basis. So, as we develop our regulatory approach this group must not be forgotten. We would much rather see people stopping using any form of nicotine long term.”

Ends

[1] The Smokefree GB analysis conducted by ASH is based on data collected by YouGov for ASH, and is carried out in the Spring each year. The survey first started asking about e-cigarette use in 2010, and this update includes the results of the 2024 survey (n=13,266) carried out in February and March 2024. Full fact sheet here: https://ash.org.uk/uploads/Use-of-vapes-among-adults-in-Great-Britain-2024.pdf

[2] The ASH Smokefree Youth survey found that vaping rates among 11-17 year olds remain high with an estimated 980,000 having tried vaping and lower levels continuing to vape. https://ash.org.uk/uploads/Use-of-vapes-among-young-people-in-Great-Britain-2024.pdf?v=1722505432

[3] https://www.cochrane.org/news/latest-cochrane-review-finds-high-certainty-evidence-nicotine-e-cigarettes-are-more-effective

[4] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nicotine-vaping-in-england-2022-evidence-update

ENDS

Notes to the Editor
Action on Smoking and Health is a health charity working to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco use. For more information see: ash.org.uk. ASH receives funding for its programme of work from Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation.

Contact: press@ash.org.uk Hazel Cheeseman Deputy Chief Executive is available for media interviews plus case studies of people who quit smoking through vaping and people who support smokers to quit.