Recently, the official website of the University of London published the results of a study, originally published in the journal Addiction, funded by Cancer Research UK, discussing survey data from 2016 to 2024.
During that time, the proportion of the population who both smoked and used vapes rose from 3.5% (about 1 in 30 people) to 5.2% (about 1 in 20 people), the study showed. This percentage has risen sharply since 2021, when single-use vapes first became popular.
The increase has been most dramatic among young people. In 2024, nearly two-thirds of smokers aged 18 to 24 also used vapes, up from just one in five in 2016.
The team also found that among dual users, the trend from more frequent smoking to more frequent use of vapes was clear. Daily smoking and non-daily vape use decreased from 32 percent to 15 percent, while daily vape use and non-daily smoking more than doubled from 8 percent to 22 percent.
Legal e-cigarettes help smokers quit for good
The researchers say this could be due to an increase in dual use among young people. They use vapes more frequently than older adults and smoke less often. Dr Sarah Jackson (Institute of Epidemiology and Health, University of London), lead author of the study, said: “The dual use of vapes and tobacco is often a transitional state for people trying to quit or reduce the amount they smoke. So if it’s good for people to stay away from smoking, it’s not necessarily bad for people’s health in the long run.”
- “In our study, we found that dual-user behavior has shifted from more frequent smoking to more frequent vape use. This could be good news because dual users could reduce their health risks by using more vapes.”
- “However, it is important that everyone should quit smoking completely to reap the full health benefits.” To conduct the study, the researchers explored the data using the Smoking Kit, an ongoing survey that interviews a different representative sample of adults in England each month. They looked at data from 128,588 adults (aged 18 and over) in England from 2016 to 2024.
The research team found that multiple users who mistakenly believed vapes were as harmful or more harmful than tobacco rarely used vapes daily. The researchers say this is important because daily vape use is associated with successful smoking cessation, rather than daily vape use. As a result, misconceptions about the harms may prevent these dual users from cutting back or quitting.
Nearly half of dual users (44%) incorrectly believe that vapes are as harmful or more harmful than tobacco. Professor Jamie Brown, from the Institute of Epidemiology and Health at University College London, said: “For people to make informed decisions about the products they use, it is necessary to accurately communicate the relatively harmful messages of smoking and vape use. Mass media campaigns should play a key role in this. Investment in national promotion is particularly important to realize the potential of a smoke-free generation policy.”
Alyze Froghel, director of prevention policy at Cancer Research UK, said: “Cigarettes may cause around 160 cases of cancer a day in the UK. If you smoke, the best thing you can do for your health is to quit altogether.”
- “Research has found that legal vapes are much less harmful than tobacco and can help people quit smoking for good. While it is important to provide convenience for those trying to quit, they should not be in the hands of children, nor should they be used by people who have never smoked. To end cancer caused by cigarettes, the government must provide sustained funding for smoking cessation services.”
While the proportion of daily vape use and non-daily smoking has increased recently, the most common dual-use pattern remains daily smoking and daily vape use. In 2024, this model will account for 45% of dual users. This pattern is more common among older, lower-status dual users who primarily inhale artisanal tobacco and have a strong desire to smoke.
Among those who used vapes for more than a year, non-daily smoking and daily use of vapes were more common. According to the researchers, this finding is consistent with the following probabilities. Even if it’s not a formal attempt to quit smoking, using vapes may support people’s transition from smoking. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) recommends that using vapes can help people quit smoking, and while using vapes is less harmful than smoking cigarettes, non-smokers should not use them.
