For the first time in Great Britain, the number of adults using vapes or e-cigarettes has overtaken those who smoke traditional cigarettes, according to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on November 5, 2025. This historic crossover, reported by outlets including BBC, 2Firsts, and AOL, marks a major milestone in the nation’s ongoing public health battle against smoking-related disease and death.
The ONS’s 2024 survey reveals that roughly 5.4 million adults now use vapes daily or occasionally, compared to 4.9 million who smoke cigarettes. That means 10% of adults aged 16 and over are regular or occasional e-cigarette users, slightly surpassing the 9.1% of adults who still light up cigarettes. It’s a dramatic shift from the days when nearly half the adult population smoked—a figure that’s hard to imagine now.
This new landscape has emerged after a decade of falling cigarette use, as more people became aware of the grave health risks of tobacco. The National Health Service (NHS) has long warned that cigarettes release thousands of chemicals when burned, many of them poisonous and cancer-causing. By comparison, vaping exposes users to a much smaller fraction of these dangers. According to the NHS, "vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking," though health experts caution that vaping is not entirely harmless, and the long-term effects remain unclear. As a result, children and non-smokers are strongly advised never to vape.
Demographically, the trends are nuanced. Daily vape use is most common among 25-49 year olds, but the heaviest use overall is among the youngest adults: 16-24 year olds, with 13% reporting regular or occasional use. Interestingly, while vaping rates among men have dipped slightly, they are on the rise among women. Smoking, meanwhile, is most prevalent among 25-34 year olds, where 12.6% still smoke, though this is down sharply from previous years. Among 18-24 year olds, smoking rates have plummeted from 25% in 2011 to under 10% in 2024, according to 2Firsts.
Health experts and advocacy groups have welcomed the decline in smoking as a public health victory, but they’re not celebrating without reservation. The charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) called the drop in smoking numbers "good news for public health," but warned that those who continue to smoke "are trapped in a cycle of addiction that will likely take their lives." ASH points out that smoking is responsible for over 70,000 deaths every year in the UK, making it the leading cause of preventable death. The group is urging the government to invest in and support communities where smoking rates remain stubbornly high.
There’s also a note of caution about the rise in vaping. Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of ASH, told BBC, "This is a significant moment… but non-smokers and young people taking up vaping remain a worry." Dr. Deborah Arnott at University College London echoed this, stating that vaping “is not risk-free and should only be used to quit smoking.” The concern is that, while vaping is less harmful than smoking, it may be luring in new users—especially young people—who might otherwise have avoided nicotine altogether.
The ONS survey also sheds light on quitting patterns. The proportion of adults who have given up smoking continues to climb, reaching 74.2% in 2024, up from 70.3% just a year earlier. That’s a far cry from the 1970s, when less than 30% of smokers had managed to quit, and nearly half of all adults in the UK smoked cigarettes.
This sea change didn’t happen overnight. Over the past two decades, a series of legislative steps have helped to drive down smoking rates. In 2006-2007, the UK banned smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces. In 2015, smoking in cars with children present was outlawed. Two years later, plain cigarette packaging was introduced. Each step made cigarettes less accessible or less attractive, particularly to young people.
Now, the government is pushing forward with even more ambitious legislation. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, currently before the House of Lords, aims to lock in these gains and address new challenges posed by vaping. If passed, the Bill will ban cigarette sales to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009—essentially creating a "smoke-free generation" by gradually raising the legal age for tobacco purchases. The Bill will also:
- Restrict vape flavours, packaging, and advertising to reduce their appeal to children.
- Ban the sale of nicotine pouches and other nicotine products to under-18s.
- Set limits on nicotine content and prohibit fruity flavours popular among youth.
- Impose £200 fines on retailers caught selling to minors.
Health officials told BBC that these rules will "set clear standards on strength, flavour, and packaging to keep young people safe." The government has already made it illegal, as of June 2025, to sell or supply single-use or disposable vapes—an effort to cut down on both environmental waste and youth vaping. The Department of Health and Social Care emphasized that, until now, there were no limits on how strong nicotine pouches could be, but the new Bill will change that.
Not everyone is convinced the government’s approach is perfectly calibrated. Some critics warn that the new restrictions, especially those targeting vape flavours and packaging, could make it harder for smokers to quit by removing products that help them transition away from cigarettes. As reported by 2Firsts, these critics argue the government is "targeting products that help smokers quit," potentially undermining the very progress that’s being celebrated.
Despite these concerns, the data shows that the UK’s tobacco control strategy is working—at least in terms of reducing smoking rates. The ONS found that daily or occasional vape use has risen from 5.1 million in 2023 to 5.4 million in 2024, with the highest rates still among young adults. Meanwhile, the number of smokers continues to decline, and more people are quitting than ever before.
Looking back, it’s remarkable how much has changed since the 1970s. The UK has moved from a nation where smoking was the norm, to one where quitting is the expectation and vaping is seen—by some—as a less harmful alternative. Yet, the story isn’t over. As new laws come into force and public health campaigns evolve, the debate over how best to protect young people and support smokers trying to quit will no doubt continue.
For now, Britain stands at a crossroads in its fight against tobacco. The hope is that future generations will grow up free from the grip of nicotine addiction—whether delivered by cigarette or vape.
