Number of vapers overtakes smokers for the first time

The number of people who vape has overtaken the number who smoke for the first time, new figures suggest.

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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.