More Than One Million People Who Have Never Smoked Are Now Vaping

More than one million people in Great Britain who say they have never smoked a cigarette are now using vapes, according to the latest official figures.

Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that around 1.1 million never-smokers reported vaping either daily or occasionally in 2025.

That figure is up from around 940,000 in 2024, highlighting the growing use of e-cigarettes among people who have never been smokers.

Vaping overtakes smoking

The figures show that vaping has now overtaken cigarette smoking among people aged 16 and over.

Around 5.4 million people reported using vapes or e-cigarettes in 2025, compared with 4.9 million current smokers.

The number of smokers has continued to fall, from approximately 5.3 million in 2024 to 4.9 million in 2025.

Smoking now accounts for roughly one in 10 adults in the UK.

The ONS figures are based on different populations: vaping statistics cover people aged 16 and over in Great Britain, while the smoking figures cover adults across the whole of the UK.

25 to 34-year-olds now leading vaping use

Young adults are no longer the age group most likely to vape.

The ONS found that 16.4% of people aged 25 to 34 used e-cigarettes daily or occasionally in 2025.

That was higher than among 16 to 24-year-olds.

David Mais from the ONS said vapers were getting older, which could reflect existing users moving into older age groups, increasing popularity among 25 to 34-year-olds, or a combination of both.

Vaping is less harmful than smoking — but not risk-free

The NHS says vaping is less harmful than smoking cigarettes, but the long-term effects of vaping are still not fully understood.

It also advises that people who do not smoke should not start vaping and that people aged 17 and under should never vape.

That makes the rise in vaping among never-smokers an important part of the wider debate around e-cigarettes.

For smokers, vaping can form part of a strategy to reduce exposure to the harmful chemicals produced by burning tobacco.

For people who have never smoked, however, there is no tobacco habit to replace.

Smoking rates continue to fall

While vaping continues to grow, the number of smokers is moving in the opposite direction.

Young adults aged 18 to 24 recorded the largest fall in smoking among the age groups measured.

Among people who continued to smoke in 2025, around half said they intended to quit.

Men were more likely to smoke than women, while people aged 45 to 54 had the highest proportion of current smokers at 12.4%.

New smoke-free generation

The UK is also moving towards a major change in tobacco legislation.

New legislation will permanently prevent the legal sale of tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009, creating what the government describes as a "smoke-free" generation.

The policy is intended to prevent future generations from becoming smokers.

Hazel Cheeseman of Action on Smoking and Health said the latest figures showed progress in reducing smoking rates but argued that smoking remains a major cause of preventable death.

The changing picture

The latest figures present a complicated picture.

Fewer people are smoking cigarettes, continuing a long-term decline in tobacco use.

At the same time, vaping has become more widespread and has now overtaken smoking in reported use among people aged 16 and over.

Most notably, more than a million people who say they have never smoked are now using e-cigarettes.

That raises an important public health question: while vaping can provide a less harmful alternative for existing smokers, how should society respond when people who have never smoked begin using nicotine-containing products?

The answer will depend on how the evidence develops and how policymakers balance smoking reduction with preventing a new generation from becoming dependent on nicotine.

For now, the official figures show one clear trend: smoking continues to decline, while vaping continues to expand.