Vaping - understanding prevalence and trends among adults and children: research

Data on Vaping among Adults

This section summarises data on vaping among the adult population (either 16+ or 18+ depending on the survey) both in Scotland and the rest of the UK. Summary data is presented covering:

• Current use (including both daily and occasional use)
• Ever tried (including both current use and any use in the past)
• Dual use (namely the percentage of those who currently vape and also smoke tobacco)
• Differences by socio-economic status (measured by social grade or class, or income or deprivation quintile)

Current use

Increase in current use (Scotland) – Data on adults aged 16+ in Scotland from the Smoking Toolkit Study (STS) show an increase in the proportion reporting use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products from 7.3% in October 2020 to 13.2% in October 2022. This is in line with trends recorded both in England and Wales. In Scotland, current use is higher in the younger age groups. Current use was reported by 16.8% of the 16-24 cohort between November 2021-November 2022, compared to 8.5% of those aged 55-64 years and 2.8% of those 65+.^[3]

No change in current use (Scotland) – The Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) 2021 shows that the proportion of adults aged 16+ who reported being current users was 5% compared to 7% in 2019. This is not statistically significant and methodological changes in data collection may have impacted results.^[4] Current use was higher in the younger age groups (6% of the 16-24 cohort and 8% of the 25-34 cohort compared to 5% of those aged 55-64 years and 2% or less of those 65+).

Increase in current use (UK) – In 2021, the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) reported a significantly higher proportion of vapers – 7.7% of all respondents aged 16 and over (of which 4.9% said that they were currently daily users of e-cigarettes and 2.8% that they vaped occasionally) compared to 3.7% in 2014, when data collection began.^[5] By age, those aged 25 to 34 years reported the highest proportion of daily users (8.3%), while those aged 16-24 had the highest proportion of occasional users (7.5%).

Increase in current use (UK) – Data from the ASH SmokeFree GB survey show that the overall proportion of the adult population using e-cigarettes increased to 8.3% in 2022, the highest percentage ever recorded, amounting to 4.3 million people. This compares to 7.1% in 2021 and 4.2% in 2014.

No change in current use (UK) – Data from wave 12 of the Understanding Society survey 2020/21 show that current use was 5.12%. This percentage has remained relatively stable compared to previous years (current use was 5.46% in 2019/2020, 5.47% in 2018/2019 and 5.41% in 2017/2018). In 2020/21, vaping was less common among those aged 55+.^[6]

No change in current use (England) – The Health Survey for England (HSE) 2021 indicates that 5% of all adults are current e-cigarette users (stable since 2016). Use of e-cigarettes varied with age, peaking in the 25-34 cohort at 7% and decreasing to 2% in those aged 75 and over.

Ever tried

No change in ever tried (Scotland) – The Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) 2021 shows no change in the proportion of adults aged 16+ who reported having ever used e-cigarettes (16% vs 20% in 2019). Although this looks like a reduction, this is not statistically significant and methodological changes in data collection may have impacted results.^[7]

Increase in ever tried (UK) – Data from wave 12 of the Understanding Society survey 2020/21 show that 15% of respondents ever tried vaping. The percentage has gradually increased since wave 9 (14.1% in 2017/2018) though by only a small amount.

Decrease in ever tried (England) – The Health Survey for England (HSE) 2021 indicates that 15% of the total sample have ever tried e-cigarettes, a decline from 21% in 2019. This decline is reflected in different age groups, but particularly in the 16-24 cohort (from 37% in 2019 to 21% in 2021).

Dual use

The Smoking Toolkit Study (Scotland) data for October 2022 report that 42.9% of all adult e-cigarette users also smoked tobacco, down from 51.5% in July 2022. Similarly, dual use is common both in England (48.2%) and Wales (55.5%).

The Scottish Health Survey 2021 shows that 2% of the total sample of adults aged 16+ who vape are also smoking tobacco (with current vapers being 5% of all participants).

For Scotland, the Understanding Society survey 2020/21 shows that 39.3% of current e-cigarette users also smoke (33% for the whole UK).^[8]

The ASH SmokeFree GB survey 2022 shows a gradual decrease in the proportion of all adult vapers who also smoke (dual users) from 65% in 2014 to 31% in 2021, with a slight increase in 2022 (35%).

Data from the Opinions and Lifestyle survey 2020/21 (GB) highlight that one fourth of those who are aged 16+ and vape are also smoking tobacco cigarettes (11.3% of daily users and 14% of occasional users).

The Health Survey for England 2021 reports that 25.3% of current tobacco smokers are also current e-cigarette users.

Vaping by deprivation

Figures for Scotland from the Smoking Toolkit Study report variation in current use by social grade, with those in group E twice as likely as those in group AB of using e-cigarettes (12% vs 6.2% between November 2021 and November 2022). Despite small sample sizes, this difference is statistically significant.^[9]

The Scottish Health Survey 2021 highlighted how current use was more frequent in those in the bottom equivalised income quintile (11% vs 2% in the top quintile) and in the most deprived SIMD quintile (12% vs 3% in the least deprived). Among current smokers who tried to quit and recent ex-smokers, e-cigarettes and vapes for smoking cessation were also more commonly used in the bottom equivalised income quintile (25% vs 13% in the top quintile) and in the most deprived SIMD quintile (26% vs 8% in the least deprived). Similarly, dual use was more common in in the bottom equivalised income quintile (5% vs 1% in the top quintile) and in the most deprived SIMD quintile (6% vs 1% in the least deprived).

Data for Scotland by Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) from the Understanding Society survey 2020/21 show a marked difference in current use between those in the most deprived (9.4%) and those in the least deprived quintile (2.2%).^[10]

The Ash SmokeFree GB survey identified differences in vaping behaviour by social class. In 2022, 9.5% of those classified as C2DE were current vapers compared to 7.3% of those classified as ABC1.