Daily smoking in the UK has fallen by almost a third since 2020, while six in 10 people who currently vape are former smokers, new figures from Action on Smoking and Health suggest.
The proportion of adults smoking every day has dropped by 32 per cent in five years to 6.6 per cent, putting Britain closer to the Government’s smoke-free target of five per cent or below.
At the same time, vaping has become an established route away from cigarettes. Some 60 per cent of current vapers previously smoked, while another 32 per cent continue to use both products. Fewer than one in 10 have never smoked regularly.
The figures provide fresh evidence that most adult vape use remains concentrated among people who smoke or have smoked, rather than those with no history of regular cigarette use.
More former smokers used vapes to quit
More than a quarter, 27 per cent, of adults who previously smoked said they used a vape to help them quit. More than half of that group stopped smoking within the past five years.
Dr Delon Human, leader of the Smoke Free Sweden campaign, said: “The figures also expose a persistent myth. Vaping is overwhelmingly being used by people with a history of smoking, not by people who have never smoked.
“Policymakers should be encouraging smokers to switch to safer smoke-free alternatives instead of creating barriers that keep them tied to cigarettes.”
The results come as ministers prepare tighter controls on vaping under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, including new powers covering flavours, packaging, displays and product design.
The figures suggest those measures will need to protect children without making vaping less accessible or appealing to adults seeking an alternative to cigarettes.
Dual users smoke fewer cigarettes
People who both smoke and vape also reported consuming fewer cigarettes than smokers who did not vape.
Dual users smoked an average of 6.5 cigarettes a day, compared with 9.1 among people who smoked but did not use vapes.
The figures cannot show whether individual dual users will eventually quit cigarettes. However, the lower consumption is consistent with some smokers using vapes to cut down while moving towards a full switch.
Flavour choices also indicate that former smokers do not necessarily want products that imitate cigarettes. Six in 10 vapers preferred fruit flavours, while nine per cent chose tobacco flavour.
That finding will add to concerns that sweeping flavour restrictions could remove options valued by adults who have moved away from smoking.
“These findings show that sensible regulation works,” Dr Human said. “The UK has combined strong youth protections with continued access for adult smokers. That is a far better approach than blanket bans, which remove options from smokers while doing little to stop youth experimentation.”
Misunderstanding of relative risk persists
Despite the decline in smoking, widespread confusion about the relative harms of cigarettes and vapes remains a barrier to switching.
More than half of adults in Great Britain, including 52 per cent of smokers, believed vaping was as harmful as or more harmful than smoking.
That perception conflicts with the central public health distinction between the two products: cigarettes burn tobacco and produce smoke, while vapes heat a liquid without combustion.
“Millions of smokers are still being held back by false beliefs about the relative risks of nicotine products,” Dr Human said.
“Every smoker who wrongly concludes that vaping is no better than smoking is more likely to continue using the product that kills up to two out of three long-term users.”
The new figures strengthen the case for policy that clearly separates combustible cigarettes from lower-risk, smoke-free alternatives. The UK is now close to the official smoke-free threshold, but the remaining smokers may be harder to reach.
Maintaining accurate risk communication and access to alternatives could therefore become increasingly important as the smoking rate moves towards five per cent.
