ASH Factsheet 2023
Action on Smoking and Health has released a factsheet to summarise the findings from its latest look at adult vaping in Great Britain
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by Dave Cross
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ASH has been running these data gathering exercises since 2020. The latest is based on a survey conduced across February and March this year.
ASH’s key findings:
Use and awareness of e-cigarettes
- The proportion of the population using e-cigarettes this year is 9.1%, the highest rate ever, equal to 4.7million adults in Great Britain.
- 2.7 million (56%) are ex-smokers.
- 1.7 million (37%) are current smokers.
- 320,000 are never smokers (1.1% of never smokers are current vapers, and 6.7% of current vapers are never smokers).
Why people vape
- The main reasons given by ex-smokers for vaping is to help them quit (31%); to prevent relapse (22%); because they enjoy the experience (14%); and to save money (12%).
- The main reasons given by current smokers for vaping is to cut down on smoking (19%), to try to help them quit (17%) and to prevent relapse (13%).
- The main reasons never-smokers vape is because they enjoy the experience (39%) and just to give it a try (27%).
Devices and products used
- The most commonly used type of e-cigarette device remains a refillable tank system, with 50% of current vapers reporting this type as their main device.
- Disposable vapes have become more popular in 2023 (31%), compared with 2022 (15%) and 2021 (2.3%).
- E-cigarettes with replaceable cartridges were used by 17% of vapers.
- Use of disposable vapes has risen quickly among 18-24year old adults.
- Over half of current e-cigarettes users (57%) use disposables as their main type in 2023.
- The majority of adults currently vaping use nicotine strengths below 13 mg/ml.
- 1.2% of current vapers use e-liquids over the legal limit of 20 mg/ml.
- 13% don’t know what strength e-liquid they use.
Perceptions of harm
- Four in ten smokers incorrectly believe vaping is as or more harmful than smoking up from a third last year and one in five in 2019.
- A third of smokers understand that vaping is less harmful than smoking.
- Fewer than one in ten smokers understand that vaping is a lot less harmful than smoking.
- Ex-smokers who vape (2.9 million) have the most accurate perceptions of harm, with 75% correctly identifying that vaping is less harmful than smoking.
Reasons why smokers haven't tried using e-cigarettes
- 1.8 million (27%) of smokers have not yet tried e-cigarettes.
- 20% said they do not want to substitute one addiction for another.
- 9.0% said that they are not addicted to smoking and don’t need help to quit.
- 14% are concerned about the safety of vaping.
- 13% said they do not believe that e-cigarettes could help them quit or cut down.
- 8.4% said they do not know enough about vapes and vaping.
References:
- Use of e-cigarettes (vapes) among adults in Great Britain - HERE
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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