A new report commissioned by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has found vaping products can play a vital role in reducing health burdens caused by smoking cigarettes, alongside smoking cessation.

Titled ‘Nicotine vaping in England: an evidence update including health risks and perceptions’, the report stated cigarettes are the “largest single risk factor for death and years of life lived in ill-health globally, a leading cause of health inequalities in England, and the second most important risk factor for death and disability-adjusted life years globally”.

Evidence outlined that vaping prevalence among adults in England has increased by around 1% from 2020 to 2021, to between 6.9% and 7.1%, and that the proportion of vapers who also smoke had been declining since 2012, from 91.9% to 49.8% in 2020.

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When it comes to flavours, fruit, menthol/mint and tobacco varieties remained the most popular among vapers, commanding a 35.3%, 22.5% and 20.9% share, respectively.

Other findings showed vaping is more common among disadvantaged adult groups in society, and research should continue to explore the impact higher vaping prevalence has on stopping smoking and reducing health inequalities.

Between April 2020 and March 2021, quit attempts in stop smoking services that involved using a vaping product (alone or in combination with medication) achieved self-reported short-term success rates of 64.9%, compared with 58.6% for attempts not involving a vape product.

Youth vaping prevalence (including occasional and regular vaping among 11-18-year-olds) was at 8.6% in 2022, compared with 4.0% in 2021 and 4.8% in 2020. The main reason for vaping among young ‘never smokers’ was to ‘give it a try’.

Responding to the findings, John Dunne, director general at the UKVIA, said: “The evidence review highlights the issue of youth vaping, an area that the UKVIA is focussing significantly on to address the current unacceptable situation. 

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“Our own Youth Access Prevention taskforce is working tirelessly with Trading Standards, the retail sector and brand owners to prevent youth access to vaping. We have recently sent the Department for Health and Social Care a number of recommendations, which are designed to cut the sale of vapes to minors off at source.”

These include the introduction of a retail licensing or approved retailer and distributor scheme, increased penalties of at least £10,000 per instance for traders who flout the law, and the introduction of a national test purchasing scheme to ensure all retail operations are performing to high standards when it comes to preventing youth access to e-cigarettes.

Dunne added: “In short, the latest evidence review has further dispelled myths and debunked falsehoods about vaping, as well as highlighting the importance of taking an evidence-based approach to harm reduction policies. Those who questioned and doubted that vaping is considerably less harmful than smoking, and spread misinformation need to take this latest evidence seriously.”

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