UK 2019 Adult Smoking Survey: E-Cigarette Use Rose Significantly

According to estimates from the Annual Population Survey (APS), in the UK in 2019, 14.1% of the population aged 18 and over were smokers, which is approximately 6.9 million people.

The current smoking rate in the UK has significantly decreased from 14.7% in 2018 to 14.1% in 2019.

Among the constituent countries, 13.9% of adults in England smoke, 15.5% in Wales, 15.4% in Scotland, and 15.6% in Northern Ireland.

In the UK, the smoking rate for men is 15.9%, while for women it is 12.5%.

The highest proportion of smokers is among those aged 25 to 34, at 19.0%.

In the UK, about a quarter (23.4%) of regular and manual workers smoke, which is 2.5 times higher than the 9.3% smoking rate among managerial and professional occupations.

In the UK, according to estimates from Opinions and Lifestyles, more than half (52.7%) of the current smokers aged 16 and over expressed a desire to quit, while 62.5% of former smokers reported that they had quit. (OPN).

In 2019, 5.7% of respondents in the UK reported that they currently use e-cigarettes, equivalent to nearly 3 million adults in the population.

Smokers are increasingly using e-cigarettes to help them quit. In a recent evidence review, Public Health England found that smoking accounts for a small portion of smoking risks, and when e-cigarettes are used as part of a quit attempt, the success rate can be comparable to or higher than that of using licensed medications alone. The Welsh government also reported that the most common reason for using e-cigarettes is to help stop smoking (76% of current users).

There are approximately 3 million smokers in the UK

In 2019, 5.7% of survey respondents reported that they currently use e-cigarettes; this corresponds to nearly 3 million people in Great Britain. This proportion is significantly higher than the 3.7% observed when data collection began in 2014. In 2019, the proportion of those who reported using e-cigarettes did not statistically differ from the previous year.

Figure 6: The proportion of current e-cigarette users has significantly increased since 2014

The proportion of current vapers in the UK from 2014 to 2019
 
Although the reported smoking rate for men in 2019 (6.1%) was higher than for women (5.4%), this was the first year since data collection began in 2014 that the male smoking rate declined (from 7.7% in 2011 to 6.1% in 2018) – this was not statistically significant. By age, the highest proportion of users using e-cigarettes is among those aged 25 to 34, at 9.2%.

Half of smokers use e-cigarettes as a means to quit

In 2019, among current cigarette smokers (15.5%) and former smokers (11.7%), the proportion of vapers was highest. Only 0.4% of never smokers reported currently vaping.

The most common reason for smoking is as an aid to quitting, with approximately half (50.6%) of smokers reporting using e-cigarettes for this purpose.