One million people in England who weren't smokers now vape – but it's not as alarming as it sounds

One million people in England are now vaping despite having never been regular smokers, new research has found.

According to a study published in The Lancet Public Health journal, one in 28 adults (1,006,000 people) now use vapes and e-cigarettes despite never having regularly smoked. This figure is up from about one in 200 adults (133,000 people) in 2021 who vape but have never regularly smoked.

In total, 5.1 million people aged 16 or over in Britain, or about one in ten, use vapes or e-cigarettes, according to separate figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this week. The statistics authority found that vaping rates were highest among those aged 16 to 24, at 15.8%.

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But despite these high numbers, Chris Thomas, head of the commission on health and prosperity at the Institute for Public Policy Research, told the Big Issue that although there are “potential harms” associated with vaping, it is still much less of a health risk than smoking.

“Smoking is still a leading cause of death and vaping isn’t,” Thomas explained, adding that vaping, while “not without harm”, is “nowhere near” as big of a public health risk.

He explained that there was “nuance” to the report on those who vape despite never having smoked, because among that group would be people who “would have otherwise smoked if vapes didn’t exist”. 

“I imagine within this million-person group, there are a proportion that would have gone on to to smoke if they hadn’t vaped,” he said. “So it’s not necessarily as alarming as it might sound.”

Thomas told the Big Issue that some of the harm associated with vaping is around “uncertainty”, and that health experts don’t have the same “evidence” on the potential harms of vaping as the evidence of the harms of smoking. However, while vapes aren’t as damaging as smoking, they are still highly addictive.

“Nicotine in itself is not a particularly harmful substance, but it is addictive, and that means that people who vape who wouldn’t have otherwise used nicotine, will have an addiction that costs money… and obviously there’s big worry about children particularly from that addiction point of view,” he said.

The study published in the Lancet found that in recent years, those who vape despite never having regularly smoked tended to be younger, more were women, and more were drinking alcohol at increasing levels.

Those within this group were also more likely to use disposable vapes, buy products from supermarkets or convenience shops, and use the highest-strength nicotine e-liquids.

Thomas explained that in light of a spike in vaping use, some “intervention” could be needed, like plain packaging to prevent children and teenagers being enticed by vapes.

“Things like plain packaging and diminishing the appeal to children are some fairly sensible policy measures that could be implemented,” he said, adding that while plain packaging could be less appealing to younger people, it would make less of a difference for adults choosing to vape instead of smoke.

He added that the ban on disposable vapes was “justified”, particularly when it came to the environmental impact, however the government should be aware of vape companies finding ways to bypass the ban. 

“We’re already seeing slightly chunkier vapes come onto the market that are still ostensibly disposable,” he explained.

“What they’ve basically done is whacked a USB-C port on the side of them, but they’re still almost certainly intended for disposable use… The market will shift, and regulation needs to shift with that.”

Thomas highlighted that while there were “potential harms” associated with vaping, vapes are still a useful tool when it comes to preventing and stopping smoking.

“I think the communication about what vapes are and what they’re for is really important,” he explained.

“Within the messaging on vapes, the harms of them are disproportionately focused on,” he said, which could lead to the public believing “vapes and smoking are about as bad as each other”, when in fact smoking is far more harmful. 

The study’s lead author, Dr Sarah Jackson of the UCL’s Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, said: “The public health impact of this substantial rise in vaping among people who have never regularly smoked will depend on what these people would otherwise be doing.

“It is likely that some would have smoked if vaping were not an available option. In this case, vaping is clearly less harmful. However, for those who would not have gone on to smoke, vaping regularly over a sustained period poses more risk than not vaping.”

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