UK Vaping Demographics and Behaviour in 2025

December 03, 2025
Posted by Tajmeet Singh

Introduction

In 2025, the vaping landscape in the United Kingdom has reached a crucial turning point: vaping has overtaken smoking in adult use. This shift has important implications not only for public health, but also for how vaping is perceived, regulated, and marketed.

What the Numbers Say: Vaping Surpasses Smoking

According to freshly released data from Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), 2024 saw the first moment in history when more adults in Great Britain reported vaping daily or occasionally than smoking.

An estimated 5.4 million adults (aged 16+) vaped in 2024, compared to about 4.9 million adults smoking.
Overall adult e-cigarette use was about 10% of the 16+ population.
The proportion vaping daily also rose reaching 6.7% in 2024, up from 5.9% in 2023.

This upward trajectory of vaping, alongside a sustained decline in smoking (currently at its lowest recorded levels), underscores a significant and perhaps lasting shift in nicotine consumption patterns in the UK.

Age, Gender and Behaviour Patterns

Adults: who vapes?

Vaping is not equally distributed across age groups. According to 2024–2025 data:

While the 16–24 age group still shows among the highest rates of vaping (around 13% in 2024), this was reportedly down from 15.8% in 2023.
Daily vaping is now most common among slightly older adults particularly those aged 25–34 and 35–49. For example, the 35–49 bracket saw one of the largest increases in daily vaping rates between 2023 and 2024.

Gender dynamics have also shifted: in 2024, roughly 10% of women aged 16+ reported vaping daily or occasionally (up from 8.5% in 2023), while among men the figure slightly decreased (from 11.0% to ~10.1%).

Youth vaping: a plateau - but still present

Youth vaping (11–17-year-olds) remains a concern. According to the 2025 youth survey from ASH:

About 20% of 11–17-year-olds have tried vaping roughly 1.1 million young people.
Approximately 7% currently vape (around 400k), and of these, nearly 40% vape daily (≈ 160k children).
Interestingly, perceptions are shifting: 63% of surveyed youth believe vaping is as harmful or more harmful than smoking.

Who’s Vaping - Former Smokers, Never Smokers & Dual Users

One common narrative is that vaping is largely a “quitting aid.” Indeed, a significant portion of adult vapers in the UK are former smokers: according to ASH’s 2025 fact sheet, around 55% of current adult vapers are ex-smokers (≈ 3.0 million people).

Longitudinal studies back this up: a recent peer-reviewed study (covering 2013–2024) found a dramatic increase in vaping prevalence among adult ex-smokers in England.

Another pattern: a notable number of ex-smokers who had quit tobacco before the vaping boom (pre-2011) have later “taken up” vaping suggesting vaping is not just a cessation tool but increasingly a lifestyle choice.

However, it’s not only ex-smokers who now vape. Studies point to a rise in vaping among people who had never been regular smokers. This shift complicates the public-health story: while vaping may help many quit smoking, the growing group of “never-smoker vapers” especially young adults raises questions around nicotine initiation, dependence, and long-term impact.

Dual users (people who both smoke and vape) also remain common, which suggests vaping in many cases is not fully substituting smoking but supplementing it.

Market Response: How we at The Vape Giant Reflect These Trends

The changes in demographics and usage patterns are affecting how retailers market and operate. We at The Vape Giant a UK-based online vape store provide an illustrative example. On our website, we highlight a wide range of products: disposable vapes (though regulatory changes are impacting that), pod kits, e-liquids, nicotine salts and accessories.

For instance:

We at The Vape Giant recently launched a “new range of bestselling disposable alternatives” advertised as fully compliant with current UK regulations.
Our marketing appears aimed at both “beginners” (first-time users) and “seasoned vapers” reflecting the diversity in the vaping populace (young adults, older adults, ex-smokers, dual users).

This commercial reality underscores how vaping is no longer a fringe or purely “quitting” phenomenon in the UK; instead, it has become mainstream enough that large retailers see value in catering to varied segments from youth-oriented disposable kits to nicotine-salt pods for adult users.

At the same time, academic and public-health scrutiny continues. A 2023 study found a substantial increase in long-term vaping among adults over the past decade, particularly from 2021 onwards. Meanwhile, public-health advocates continue to raise concerns about marketing claims, especially those that might appeal to youth.

Perceptions, Risks and Regulatory Landscape

A particularly interesting dimension is not just who vapes but how people perceive vaping. According to ASH’s 2025 data:

Among youth (11–17), 63% believe vaping is as harmful or more harmful than smoking.
Among adults, misperceptions are also common many believe vaping carries similar or worse health risks than smoking.

These shifting perceptions matter. If vaping is seen as equally harmful as smoking, many smokers may not consider switching. On the flip side, potential vapers (especially youth) might avoid vaping altogether but perhaps too late, since initiation may already have occurred.

Regulation is catching up. For example, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill (introduced in UK Parliament in 2024–2025) seeks to control supply, marketing, packaging, and licensing of vapes and aims to phase out tobacco sales for future generations.

We retailers at The Vape Giant appear to be adapting: their 2025 press materials mention a push toward “disposable alternatives” compliant with UK regulations, implying industry-wide shifts as the law tightens and perceptions evolve.

What This Means and What to Watch

Putting together the data, several broad conclusions emerge:

Vaping is no longer niche: for many UK adults, it has become the primary form of nicotine use.
The demographic profile is diversifying: not just young people and ex-smokers, but also older adults and even never-smokers.
Market behaviour reflects this diversity: big online retailers like us are targeting multiple user-types with different product offerings.
Public perception and regulation are both shifting possibly leading to a major reframing of vaping’s role in UK society.
Youth vaping remains a concern: while growth has slowed, initiation rates remain non-trivial, and many young vapers may misjudge the risks.

For those working in lifestyle journalism, public health, or content marketing these trends offer a rich territory for stories, analysis, and commentary.

Why This Matters Globally:

Even though these figures come from Great Britain, they may have relevance beyond UK borders.

Policymakers can watch how regulation (e.g. via the Tobacco and Vapes Bill) intersects with industry adaptation as seen in retailers repositioning product offerings to comply with new rules.
Public-health communicators can leverage changing perception data to shape better, evidence-based messaging around relative risks of vaping vs smoking.
Content creators and marketers must recognise the varied audience for vaping products from former smokers seeking cessation to younger adults experimenting and tailor language responsibly.

In many emerging vaping markets (including countries in Asia), these lessons may help strike a balance between the potential harm-reduction benefits of vaping for smokers, and the risk of nicotine initiation among non-smokers and youth.

Conclusion

The 2025 data show that vaping has crossed a symbolic and practical threshold in the UK: it is now more common than smoking among adults. But vaping in 2025 is not a monolithic phenomenon. The user base spans generations, socioeconomic backgrounds, smoking histories, and motivations. Meanwhile, the market and regulatory environment are rapidly evolving with us at The Vape Giant adjusting their offerings, and laws like the Tobacco and Vapes Bill attempting to shape vaping’s future.

For anyone observing global smoking/vaping trends from public health experts to content creators the UK offers a powerful, data-rich snapshot of where vaping might head next.

Best Seller Vape Products : Pyne Pod Click 50k Prefilled Pod Vape Kit | Lost Mary Nera 30K Big Puffs Vape Pod Kit | Hyola Ultra 30k Prefilled Pod Vape Kit | IVG Smart Max 10k Prefilled Pod Kit