Ban on disposable vapes would affect one in seven young adults

The study, funded by Cancer Research UK and published in the journal Public Health, looked at survey responses from 69,973 adults in England, Wales and Scotland between January 2021 and August 2023.

The researchers found the proportion of adults using disposable e-cigarettes rose from 0.1 per cent to 4.9 per cent during that period. The increase was particularly pronounced among 18- to 24-year-olds, with 14.4 per cent using disposable vapes in 2023, as well as among smokers (16.3 per cent) and people who had stopped smoking in the past year (18.2 per cent).

Use among people who had never regularly smoked was relatively rare (1.5 per cent) but was higher among 18- to 24-year-olds, of whom 7.1 per cent used disposable e-cigarettes and had never regularly smoked tobacco.