The number of e-cigarette users in the UK continues to rise

China News Service, London, October 6 (Reporter Ouyang Kaiyu) Data released by the British Office for National Statistics on the 6th showed that the number of e-cigarette users in the UK continues to rise. In 2025, there will be 1.1 million new e-cigarette users, a significant increase from 940,000 in 2024.

In recent years, the UK has continued to promote its tobacco control strategy, and traditional tobacco consumption has shrunk year by year. Statistics show that among people aged 16 and above in the UK, 5.4 million people use e-cigarettes daily or occasionally, while the number of traditional smokers has dropped to 4.9 million. For the second consecutive year, the number of e-cigarette users has exceeded that of smokers. From the perspective of age structure, the 25- to 34-year-old group has become the main user of e-cigarettes, with a usage rate of 16.4%, surpassing the 16- to 24-year-old group for the first time. The overall age of e-cigarette users is showing an upward trend.

Statistics also show that the proportion of British people who have never used e-cigarettes has dropped slightly, falling to 83% in 2025. The British National Health Service reminds that although e-cigarettes are less harmful than traditional cigarettes, the long-term health risks are still unclear and non-smokers are not encouraged to use e-cigarettes.

According to reports, the UK will implement new regulations next year to ban the sale of tobacco to people born on January 1, 2009 and after, aiming to create a "smoke-free generation." The British Tobacco Control Agency stated that the smoking rate in the UK continues to decline, but smoking is still an important cause of preventable death in the country, and tobacco control work still needs to continue to be promoted.