February 2023
Featured in this insight: Medical & healthcare, Public health & wellbeing, Children & young people
Top reason given for why young people use e-cigarettes is because they 'like the flavours': A survey of people who vape has found that the leading reason why young people use e-cigarettes is because they 'like the flavours' (21%), with the second most popular answer given being 'I enjoy the experience' (18%)
The survey by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) also found that a lesser number of young people vape 'just to try it' (15%), while 11% said they use e-cigarettes as they are 'trying to quit smoking', or use an e-cigarette 'instead of smoking' (9%). Of all the flavours available, fruit flavours were the most popular found the research (57%).
Teen vaping
The survey also found that the number of children vaping (aged between 11 and 17) has increased from 4% in 2020 to 7% in 2022. In addition, it found that the number of young people who have tried vaping has increased from 14% in 2020 to 16% in the most recent findings.
More than nine out of 10 young people polled (92%) who have never smoked have also never vaped found the research. Of those ‘never smokers’ who have tried vaping, almost two-thirds (65%) said they did 'just to give it a try'.
The most commonly used 'type' of vape is a disposable device, increasing in use from 7% in 2020 to 8% in 2021 and then exponentially to 52% in 2022.
While figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for 2021 show that smoking rates in the UK are in decline with record lows, sales of single-use vaping devices are up £434million, and in the Grocer’s Top Products Survey 2022, vaping products were found to be number one in its top 10 risers list.
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