The proportion of young people in the UK who vape has tripled in the last three years, leading to a rise in nicotine addiction in a reversal of historical trends, new research shows.
Research from University College London suggests that disposable e-cigarettes have created a significant youth population who would not otherwise smoke.
The proportion of 18-24 year olds inhaling nicotine products has jumped from 28% to 35% since 2021, according to the study.
The main driver of this growth has been vaping, which has exploded in popularity thanks to the mass marketing of disposable vapes. The proportion of young people aged 18–24 who use e-cigarettes increased from 9% in May 2021 to 29% in May 2024.
Based on historical trends, growth has been far from predictable. Indeed, researchers say smoking and vaping among adults were declining through June 2021.
Vaping mania
E-cigarettes were originally produced as a less harmful alternative to smoking and were marketed almost exclusively to frequent smokers.
However, researchers warn that vaping is now leading to nicotine addiction among people who would not otherwise use nicotine products. This has a lot to do with how they are marketed.
While there are strict restrictions on cigarette packaging (which in the UK is required to display graphic images and messages about proven health risks, and advertising is banned), the rules are looser for vaping products.
Chinese e-cigarette brands such as Lost Mary and Elf Bar have helped nicotine lovers find new, younger clientele by selling vapes in bright colors and attractive flavors such as watermelon and cherry. Other major companies that have traditionally pedaled cigarettes, including Marlboro maker Philip Morris International, are shifting to vaping as legislation and taxes increasingly crowd out tobacco products.
Philip Morris launched “smoke-free futureIn recent years, the focus has been on nicotine alternatives to smoking, mainly through the sale of e-cigarettes.
“Since disposable e-cigarettes became popular in England, the historic decline in nicotine use has been reversed,” the researchers wrote.
“Nicotine use now appears to be on the rise, driven largely by the surge in popularity of vaping among young people. The decline in smoking was most pronounced in age groups with the largest increases in vaping.”
While vaping is indeed less harmful than cigarettes, it is far from harmless, and experts discourage non-smokers from picking up this highly addictive habit. Because they are so new, little is known about their long-term health risks, although a new study from Seoul National University Bundang Hospital found that people who started vaping after quitting smoking were more likely to develop lung cancer than those who quit smoking. fully.
Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government has introduced legislation aimed at stamping out nicotine use before it gets out of control.
The new bill will make it illegal to smoke at any time in life for those born after 2009, with the minimum age for purchasing cigarettes gradually raised from 18, eventually outlawing smoking for the entire population.
This bill expected to be shelved until the end of the UK general election on July 4th.
Disposable vapes, the most common way use electronic cigarettes will prohibited in the UK from April next year.
The UCL study seems to confirm the anecdotal evidence seen on any street or bar populated by Gen Zers, who are increasingly finding ways to get nicotine into their bodies.
Other young people are opting to use nicotine pouches instead of vaping, and Swedish brand Zyn, owned by Philip Morris, is rapidly growing in popularity in the United States.
Young consumers aren’t limited to just nicotine, but have become obsessed with Zyn’s lucrative rewards system, with frequent users of the products able to cash in on their addiction to $400 Apple Watches and $600 Dyson Air Wraps.
Nicotine pods such as Zyn have so far managed to evade regulations because they are not intended to be inhaled.
Lawmakers will likely continue to fight Big Nicotine’s maneuvers to get its products to interested young audiences, and the latest data suggests they can ill afford to waste time.