UCL Study: 2.2 Million Former Smokers in UK Use Vapes, Young Adults Lead the Trend

A study published in the journal BMC Medicine and funded by Cancer Research UK found that about one-fifth of people who quit smoking for over a year now use e-cigarettes, totaling approximately 2.2 million individuals, according to a report from the University College London news website on November 21st.

The research found that the increase in smoking rates is largely due to people using e-cigarettes in large quantities to quit smoking. Among those who have already quit smoking, the use of e-cigarettes is also increasing, with an estimated one in ten former smokers having quit before the popularity of e-cigarettes in 2011, some of whom had been smoke-free for several years before starting to use e-cigarettes.

The study surveyed data from 54,251 English adults (aged 18 and above) between October 2013 and May 2024, with respondents reporting that they had either quit smoking or attempted to quit smoking.

"The general increase in vaping among ex-smokers is in line with what we might expect, given the increasing use of e-cigarettes in quit attempts. NHS guidance is that people should not rush to stop vaping after quitting smoking, but to reduce gradually to minimize the risk of relapse," Lead author Dr Sarah Jackson (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care) said. 

"Previous studies have shown that a substantial proportion of people who quit smoking with the support of an e-cigarette continue to vape for many months or years after their successful quit attempt, Dr Sarah Jackson said.

"However, it is a concern to see an increase in vaping among people who had previously abstained from nicotine for many years. If people in this group might otherwise have relapsed to smoking, vaping is the much less harmful option, but if relapse would not have occurred, they are exposing themselves to more risk than not smoking or vaping."

Additionally, the research team found that in England, 1 in every 50 individuals who quit smoking for over a year reported using e-cigarettes at some point. By the end of 2017, this number had steadily risen to one in ten. The figure remained stable for several years before sharply increasing with the popularity of disposable e-cigarettes in 2021, reaching one-fifth by 2024 (estimated at 2.2 million people).

59% of former smokers under the age of 18 reported using e-cigarettes after quitting smoking for over a year as of May 2024, compared to 11% of former smokers over the age of 65.

"The implications of these findings are currently unclear. Vaping long term may increase ex-smokers relapse risk due to its behavioral similarity to smoking and through maintaining (or reigniting) nicotine addiction," Senior author Professor Lion Shahab (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care) said. 

"Alternatively, it might reduce the risk of relapse, allowing people to satisfy nicotine cravings through e-cigarettes instead of seeking out uniquely harmful cigarettes. Further longitudinal studies are needed to assess which of these options is more likely."