About 5.5 million adults in Great Britain vape, or 10% of people aged 18 and over, according to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)'s 2026 survey. After ten years of growth, that number has levelled off since 2024.
This page brings together the latest figures from ASH, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the government. We've added sales data from Gourmet E-Liquid, a UK online vape retailer, covering January 2024 to September 2026. Our data shows what vapers actually bought through the disposables ban and the run-up to the new vape tax. We update this page when new official figures are published.
Key figures at a glance
- 5.5 million adults in Great Britain vape (10%) - ASH, 2026
- 10.0% vs 9.1% e-cigarette users outnumbered smokers in Great Britain for the first time in 2024 (ages 16+) - ONS
- 60% of vapers are ex-smokers - ASH, 2026
- 42% of vapers now mainly use a pod device, up from 15% in 2024 - ASH, 2026
- 0% disposables' share of our sales since the June 2025 ban, down from 5.9% the year before - Gourmet E-Liquid
- +50% items we sold in September 2026 compared with August, the month before the vape tax - Gourmet E-Liquid
How many people vape in the UK?
According to ASH, 10.3% of adults in Great Britain currently vape, about 5.5 million people. That's down slightly from a peak of 10.7% in 2024.
See the data behind this chart
| Year | Adults who vape | Number of vapers |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1.7% | 0.8 million |
| 2013 | 2.7% | 1.3 million |
| 2014 | 4.2% | 2.1 million |
| 2015 | 5.4% | 2.7 million |
| 2016 | 5.7% | 2.9 million |
| 2017 | 5.8% | 2.9 million |
| 2018 | 6.2% | 3.2 million |
| 2019 | 7.1% | 3.6 million |
| 2020 | 6.3% | 3.3 million |
| 2021 | 7.1% | 3.7 million |
| 2022 | 8.3% | 4.3 million |
| 2023 | 9.1% | 4.8 million |
| 2024 | 10.7% | 5.7 million |
| 2025 | 10.4% | 5.6 million |
| 2026 | 10.3% | 5.5 million |
The overall number has stopped rising, but people who vape are doing it more regularly. ASH finds 7.8% of adults now vape every day, up from 4.5% in 2020. About a quarter of adults (26%) have tried vaping at least once.
The ONS gives a similar figure from a different survey. About 5.4 million people aged 16 and over in Great Britain (10.0%) used an e-cigarette daily or occasionally in 2024, and 6.7% vaped daily.
Which figure should you use?
The two main sources measure slightly different things, so they shouldn't be added together or compared directly.
| ASH Smokefree GB | ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest figure | 10.3% (5.5 million) | 10.0% (5.4 million) |
| Year of data | 2026 | 2024 (published November 2025) |
| Ages covered | 18+ | 16+ |
| Area | Great Britain | Great Britain |
| Best for | The most recent figure; device, flavour and nicotine detail | Official statistics; comparing vaping with smoking |
Neither survey covers Northern Ireland, so "UK" figures are really Great Britain figures. University College London's Smoking Toolkit Study tracks England month by month and is the best source for very recent trends.
Do more people vape than smoke?
Yes, by most measures. In 2024, ONS data showed more people in Great Britain using e-cigarettes (10.0%) than smoking cigarettes (9.1%) for the first time, about 5.4 million against 4.9 million.
ASH's 2026 survey still finds slightly more smokers (11%) than vapers (10%). But daily vapers now clearly outnumber daily smokers: 7.8% of adults vape every day, while daily smoking has fallen from 9.7% in 2020 to 6.6%.
The official UK smoking rate, from the ONS Annual Population Survey, was 10.6% of adults in 2024 (5.3 million people). That's the lowest since records began in 2011.
Who vapes? Age, sex and smoking status
Most vapers are people who smoke now or used to. ASH's 2026 survey breaks down Great Britain's 5.5 million adult vapers like this:
| Vapers who are… | Share | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Ex-smokers | 60% | 3.3 million |
| Current smokers (dual users) | 32% | 1.7 million |
| Never-smokers | 8% | 400,000 |
Only 1.5% of adults who have never smoked currently vape. Among people who quit smoking in the last five years, 58% used a vape to do it, about 2.5 million people.
By age. ASH finds vaping is most common among 25 to 34-year-olds (15%) and least common among those aged 55 and over (6%). More 18 to 24-year-olds have tried vaping (up from 32% to 39% in a year), but current use in that group has stayed at 11% since 2021. The ONS, which includes 16 and 17-year-olds, finds use highest among 16 to 24-year-olds (13.0%, down from 15.8% in 2023). Daily use is highest among 35 to 49-year-olds (9.5%).
By sex. In 2024, men and women vaped at almost the same rate: 10.1% of men and 10.0% of women, according to the ONS. Use among women rose from 8.5% the year before.
By social grade. Vaping is more common in groups where smoking is more common: 12% of adults in social grades C2DE vape, against 9% in ABC1 (ASH).
Why people vape. Ex-smokers most often say they vape to stay off cigarettes or to quit (24%). Dual users most often say they want to cut down how much they smoke (17%). Vaping is often long-term: 59% of ex-smokers who vape have done so for more than three years, up from 18% in 2017.
For figures on vaping among under-18s, see ASH's youth vaping fact sheet. It's illegal to sell vapes to anyone under 18, and from 29 October 2026 that includes zero-nicotine products.
What devices do vapers use? Pods, tanks and the disposables ban
Pods have overtaken disposables, and have nearly caught up with tanks. According to ASH, 48% of vapers in 2026 mainly use a refillable tank, 42% a pod device and 8% a disposable.
| Main device | 2021 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tank | 77% | – | – | 48% |
| Pod | – | 15% | 25% | 42% |
| Disposable | 2% | – | – | 8% (peak 31% in 2023) |
Source: ASH. Dashes are years not reported in the 2026 fact sheet.
The sale of single-use vapes was banned on 1 June 2025. ASH estimates disposable users fell from about 1.7 million in 2024 to 440,000 in 2026. Of the people who mainly used disposables before the ban, 51% switched to a reusable device afterwards. But 30% said they could still buy disposables, and 24% used stock they had bought before the ban.
What our sales show. At Gourmet E-Liquid, disposables were already in decline well before the ban. Monthly sales fell by 80% between January 2024 and May 2025, and we stopped selling them on 1 June 2025.
Comparing the 12 months before the ban (June 2024 to May 2025) with the 12 months after:
- Disposables went from 5.9% of items sold to 0%
- Nic salt e-liquids (used in pods and "big puff" devices) rose from 57% to 66% of items sold
- Sales of nic salt e-liquids rose 88%, and sales of replacement pods and cartridges rose 82%
This matches the national pattern. Former disposable users moved to pod-style devices and the nic salt liquids that go with them, not back to tanks.
What are the most popular vape flavours?
Fruit is by far the most popular flavour type. ASH's 2026 survey found:
| Flavour type | Share of adult vapers, 2026 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit | 60% | 22% |
| Menthol / mint | 15% | 22% |
| Sweet | 10% | – |
| Tobacco | 9% | 33% |
| Soft or energy drink | 6% | – |
Fruit is the top choice whatever people's smoking history, and especially among younger adults: 73% of 18 to 34-year-olds prefer it, against 41% of those aged 55 and over. In addition, 43% of vapers use "ice" (cooling) flavours sometimes or always.
What our sales show. Gourmet E-Liquid customers' flavour choices are moving the same way:
| Flavour type (share of e-liquid items) | 2024 | 2026 (Jan–Sep) |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit and sweets | 45% | 51% |
| Drinks (lemonade, cola, energy) | 14% | 13% |
| Menthol / mint | 11% | 13% |
| Dessert and bakery | 11% | 8% |
| Tobacco | 2% | 2% |
Ice flavours rose from 24% to 30% of e-liquid items over the same period. Dessert flavours hold their place in large bottles: they make up about 30% of our shortfill sales every year, but only around 6% of nic salt sales. Our tobacco share is well below the national 9%, which probably reflects our flavour-focused range rather than vapers overall.
Flavours could face restrictions. The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 gives ministers powers to restrict them, with details still subject to consultation. ASH asked vapers what they'd do if only tobacco, menthol and mint were allowed. 30% of those who would keep vaping said they would stockpile other flavours, 14% would look for illegal ones and 7% would mix their own.
What nicotine strength do vapers use?
In the UK, the maximum legal nicotine strength for e-liquid is 20mg/ml. ASH found 82% of vapers in 2026 use a strength within that limit, 1.4% use a stronger one, and 17% don't know what strength they use.
Most vapers stay at the same strength over time (61%), and 27% have reduced it. Only 6% have gone up. Ex-smokers are the most likely to have cut down: 34%, against 16% of people who still smoke as well.
What our sales show. Nic salt e-liquids, the faster-absorbing type used in pods, are almost always bought at 10mg or 20mg. That split has hardly moved:
| Nic salt strength (share of bottles) | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 (Jan–Sep) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20mg | 41% | 41% | 39% |
| 10mg | 55% | 56% | 56% |
| 5mg | 0.2% | 0.5% | 3.0% |
The small growth in 5mg nic salts is the clearest sign of customers stepping down. We also see more people choosing nicotine-free large bottles. In 2024, 33% of the shortfills we sold were bought without a nicotine shot. In 2026 so far, that's 39%.
Where do people buy vapes?
Online is the most common place to buy vaping products, unlike cigarettes. ASH's 2026 survey found:
| Where people usually buy | Vapers | Smokers |
|---|---|---|
| Online | 38% | 7% |
| Vape shop | 31% | – |
| Newsagent, corner shop or off-licence | 24% | 39% |
| Supermarket | 19% | 54% |
| Petrol station | 6% | 13% |
People could give more than one answer.
The vape tax: what it costs and how shoppers reacted
Vaping Products Duty started on 1 October 2026. It's charged at £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid, whether or not it contains nicotine, and VAT is charged on top. Every product must carry an HMRC duty stamp, and from 1 April 2027 unstamped products can't be sold at all. At the same time, tobacco duty went up by an extra £2.20 per 100 cigarettes.
Because the duty is charged per millilitre, large bottles are hit hardest:
| Bottle size | Duty | Duty plus 20% VAT, if fully passed on |
|---|---|---|
| 10ml e-liquid or nic salt | £2.20 | £2.64 |
| 50ml shortfill | £11.00 | £13.20 |
| 100ml shortfill | £22.00 | £26.40 |
Shortfills are bottles of nicotine-free e-liquid with room to add a nicotine shot. They're a big part of the vaping market. At Gourmet E-Liquid, shortfills made up 47% of all the liquid we sold in 2026, and 100ml bottles account for 74% of our shortfill sales.
How shoppers reacted. In September 2026, the month before the duty began, we sold 50% more items than in August and 81% more than in September 2025. Every product type rose:
We didn't run bigger discounts: the average discount stayed at around 3% of sales in both months. We did email our subscribers several times in August and September, telling them the tax was coming and encouraging them to stock up. Orders from those emails made up about a fifth of our sales in both months. They accounted for between a sixth and a quarter of the increase. Most of the rise came from customers buying ahead of the duty on their own.
We'll add October to December sales data in January 2027 to show what happened once the duty applied.
"Vaping Products Duty came into effect on 1 October. We built up enough stock beforehand to see us through to April 2027, when every vaping product on sale must carry a duty stamp. Our bigger worry is what the duty does to vapers overall. If vaping becomes too expensive, some people will go back to smoking or turn to the black market for cheaper, unregulated products."
UK vaping laws: a timeline
Vaping rules in the UK have changed more since 2025 than in the previous decade.
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Selling nicotine vapes to under-18s, or buying for them, became illegal |
| May 2016 | Tobacco and Related Products Regulations: 20mg/ml nicotine limit, 10ml refill bottles, 2ml tanks, health warnings, and a ban on most vape advertising in TV, radio, newspapers and magazines |
| 1 June 2025 | Sale of single-use (disposable) vapes banned |
| 29 April 2026 | Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 became law |
| 1 October 2026 | Vaping Products Duty (£2.20 per 10ml) and duty stamps introduced |
| 29 October 2026 | Selling any vape or nicotine product to under-18s becomes an offence, including zero-nicotine vapes and nicotine pouches; new restrictions on vending machines, free samples and discounting |
| 1 January 2027 | Tobacco can't be sold to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 |
| 1 April 2027 | All vaping products on sale must carry a duty stamp |
| To be confirmed | Retail licensing, and possible limits on flavours, packaging and in-store displays, after consultation |
If you're in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, some dates and details may differ.
How many vapes are thrown away?
About 6.3 million vapes and pods are thrown away every week in the UK, according to the recycling charity Material Focus (March 2026). That's down 23% from 8.2 million in 2024, but it's still a large amount of waste. Material Focus estimates 1.18 billion vapes have been thrown away over four years. Battery fires in waste collection rose to over 1,200 a year, up 71% from 700 in 2022.
ASH found that 40% of vapers put used vapes in their general rubbish, and only 14% use a retailer take-back scheme. Shops that sell vapes, including online retailers, are legally required to offer one.
Is vaping safer than smoking?
Public health experts say vaping is far less harmful than smoking, but not risk-free. Many people believe otherwise. In ASH's 2026 survey, 54% of adults thought vaping was as harmful as smoking or more so, and only 29% said it was less harmful.
The evidence on quitting is strong. A 2024 Cochrane review found high-certainty evidence that nicotine vapes help more people stop smoking long-term than nicotine replacement therapy such as patches or gum. For health advice, see the NHS guide to vaping or speak to your GP or a local stop smoking service.
Vaping isn't for people who don't smoke. If you don't smoke, don't start vaping.
About our data
National figures come from the sources listed below. We link to each original report, and quote figures as published.
Gourmet E-Liquid figures come from our order data between 1 January 2024 and 30 September 2026. They're measured in items sold, net of returns, and reported only as percentages. We sorted products into types and flavour groups using their names, so shares are accurate to within a few percentage points. Before-and-after ban comparisons use the 12 months either side of 1 June 2025. Email figures come from our email platform's attributed orders. Our customers buy online from one UK retailer, so they aren't a national sample.
Update log
- 6 October 2026: page published, using ASH 2026, ONS 2024 and Gourmet E-Liquid sales data to September 2026
Cite this page
You're welcome to use any figure or chart from this page. Please credit and link to us: Gourmet E-Liquid, "UK Vaping Statistics 2026", https://www.gourmeteliquid.co.uk/pages/uk-vaping-statistics. For our own sales data, please name Gourmet E-Liquid as the source. For national figures, please credit the original publisher.
Sources
- ASH: Use of vapes and other novel tobacco and nicotine products among adults in Great Britain, July 2026
- ONS: Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2024, 4 November 2025
- ONS dataset: E-cigarette use in Great Britain
- ASH: Use of vapes among young people in Great Britain, 2026
- Smoking Toolkit Study, UCL
- GOV.UK: New Vaping Products Duty comes into effect, 1 October 2026
- HMRC: Introduction of Vaping Products Duty from 1 October 2026
- Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026, legislation.gov.uk
- Local Government Association: retailers urged to prepare for tobacco and vape changes
- Material Focus: 6m vapes and pods thrown away every week despite the vape ban, 27 March 2026
- Cochrane: Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation, 2024
- Gourmet E-Liquid Shopify order data, January 2024 to September 2026, and email campaign data, August to September 2026