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The number of people who vape has overtaken the number who smoke for the first time, new figures suggest. One in 10 adults (10%) aged 16 and over in Britain use e-cigarettes every day or occasionally, according to 2024 data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is compared with 9.1% who said they smoke cigarettes daily or occasionally. This equates to around 5.4 million vapers and 4.9 million smokers, the ONS figures suggest. A decade earlier – in 2014 – some 18.8% of British adults aged 16 and older were cigarette users, compared to 3.7% being vape users. David Mais, from the ONS, said: “Interestingly, our 2024 data show that, for the first time, the number of users of e-cigarettes or vapes has overtaken the number of smokers. “Among adults aged 16 (and over) in Great Britain, 10% said they were e-cigarette users, compared with 9.1% that were cigarette smokers. “This is in line with the long-term trend of fewer people smoking cigarettes over the past decade.” The proportion of women who vape daily or occasionally has increased while it has decreased among men, according to the figures. One in 10 women reported using e-cigarettes daily or occasionally in 2024, up from 8.5% in 2023. Meanwhile the proportion of men who use vapes on a daily or occasional basis reduced in 2024, compared with 2023. In 2023 11% of men who took part in the ONS’ Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, a survey of adults in Great Britain aged 16 years and over, reported daily or occasional vaping. This reduced to 10.1% in 2024. The figures show daily or occasional vape use was highest among people aged 16-24 in 2024 at 13% – though this is down from 15.8%. Daily use was most likely among people aged 25 to 34 and those aged 35 to 49 in 2024. An estimated 6.7% of people aged 16 and over in Britain reported using an e-cigarette “daily” in 2024, up from 5.9% in 2023, the ONS data showed. Meanwhile, the figures also reveal the proportion of vape users who have never smoked. Around 2.7% of those who had never smoked reported using an e-cigarette daily or occasionally.
