UCL research: E-cigarette use among young people aged 18 to 24 in the UK has tripled in two years

UCL research: E-cigarette use among young people aged 18 to 24 in the UK has tripled in two years

The number of e-cigarettes used by young people aged 18 to 24 in the UK has surged, rising from 9% in May 2021 to 29% in May 2023, and experts have called for stronger regulation, especially to target the health risks of teenagers.

According to the Daily Mail report on May 23, a research report recently released by the University of London (UCL) stated that the emergence of e-cigarettes has caused the number of young people aged 18 to 24 in the UK to use e-cigarettes to triple in two years.

 

The study, funded by Cancer Research UK, looked at vaping and smoking data on 132,252 people in England between July 2016 and May 2023. Smoking and vaping levels across all age groups in the UK have remained stable or declining as of June 2021, the study found.

 

"However, since disposable e-cigarettes became popular, e-cigarette use has increased across all age groups, especially among young adults (18 to 24 years old)."

 

The report noted that the proportion of young people vaping has tripled during this period, rising from 9% in May 2021 to 29% in May 2023, with smoking rates in this age group falling from 25% to 21% , but overall nicotine use rose from 28% to 35%.

 

Among older adults, vaping rates among those over 45 increased from 5% to 6%, while smoking rates also increased from 12% to 14%. The most significant increase in vaping was among people who had never smoked, rising from 2% to 9% among those aged 18 to 24.

 

In the wake of the disposable e-cigarette epidemic in 2021, 99% of 18 to 24 year olds say they are vaping annually, compared with 39% of 25 to 44 year olds and 45% of those 45 and older. The proportion is 23%.

 

The team concluded that the historic decline in nicotine use has been reversed since disposable e-cigarettes became popular in the UK. Nicotine use is on the rise now, largely due to a sharp rise in vaping among young people.

 

Harry Tattan-Birch, lead author of the study and PhD from University College London, said,

 

"Urgent action is needed to curb rising rates of disposable e-cigarette use among people who would otherwise avoid nicotine altogether. This could include imposing excise taxes, restricting packaging or placing e-cigarettes behind shop counters. If smoking rates fall faster , then the rapid growth in e-cigarette use would not be so worrying."

 

Senior author Sarah Jackson, also from University College London, said:

 

"While action is needed to address the rise in vaping among young people who would not otherwise use nicotine, policy should avoid suggesting that e-cigarettes are a worse alternative to smoking. Vaping may not be without risks, but Smoking is particularly deadly. It is also important that policies aimed at making e-cigarettes less attractive to young people do not inadvertently reduce the effectiveness of these products in helping people quit smoking by targeting the appearance, packaging and marketing of e-cigarette products rather than their taste and flavor. Nicotine content measures may be the most effective measure to achieve this balance."