UK vape in numbers: market boom, smokers' habits and illegal sales
In a bid to tackle rising public health concerns, curb underage vaping and address environmental damage, the UK is set to implement its most sweeping reforms of e-cigarette regulations in years.
From 1st June 2025, the sale, supply and possession of all disposable e-cigarettes will be banned in the UK; a tax of £2.20 per 10ml of e-cigarette liquid will be levied from 1st October 2026; restrictions will be added to the flavouring, packaging and display of e-cigarettes, as well as on their advertisements and sponsorships; and a system of licensing for retailers and product registration will be introduced.
Before those happen, here is some statistics about e-cigarettes in the UK.
Young man using disposable electronic cigarette at table in office Image from: FAMILY STOCK, Shutterstock
Young man using disposable electronic cigarette at table in office Image from: FAMILY STOCK, Shutterstock
UK Electronic Cigarette Market
Part 1
The E-cigarettes are already an industry that cannot be ignored.
According to Statista, the UK e-cigarette market is forecast to reach £3.25bn in revenue by 2025, continuing to be the second largest market in the world behind the US (£7.3bn) and Canada (£1.1bn).
More detailed domestic data on the UK e-cigarette market (2025 update), and the tax added
Over the next five years, e-cigarettes' annual growth rate will slow to 1.61% and e-cigarettes are expected to account for around 18 per cent of total UK tobacco product revenues in that year, well behind cigarettes.
Cigarettes will still account for more than half in 2025, although the trend may change in the future as anti-smoking initiatives encourage people to switch to e-cigarettes.
E-cigarette smokers
Part 2
By 2024, 11 % of UK adults (around 5.6 million people) now use e-cigarettes, the highest proportion ever recorded, As Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)'s 2024 report based on YouGov data shows.
Between 2018 and 2021, the majority of e-cigarette users have been previously exposed to cigarettes. By 2024, more than half of former smokers use e-cigarettes. The median average duration of use for these users is two years.
The surge in e-cigarette use among young people has been mitigated in the last year, with 11 % of young people having tried e-cigarettes in 2021, and this nearly doubling to nearly one in five by 2023. The trend of frequent e-cigarette use among minors has also been on the rise, but is also mitigated in 2024.
The figure reaches a fallback when the ban on disposable e-cigarettes, which will be implemented on 1st June 2025, being announced in January 2024. Previously disposable e-cigarettes were the top choice for underage e-cigarette smokers.
More about what people think about the dangers of e-cigarettes and are they really more harmful than cigarettes?
Perceptions of the harms of e-cigarettes are changing. Between 2021 and 2024, more than half of both adult smokers and minors aged 11-17 believe that e-cigarettes are more harmful or just as harmful as traditional cigarettes.
Illicit e-cigarettes and sales
Part 3
Illegal e-cigarettes entering the UK and the problem of minors buying e-cigarettes on the ground exist.
Vape Club said nearly 3 million illegal e-cigarettes were seized between 2020 and 2024, and more than 108 retailers were punished for illegal e-cigarette sales in 2024 alone. BBC says Trade Standards officials across England have confiscated more than six million illegal e-cigarette products.
Limited to England, London and the north of England are the main areas hit by illegal e-cigarettes in 2024. The number of illegal e-cigarettes seized in London reached 534,024, accounting for 46%, according to Vape Club.
And governments at all levels have also cracked down on illegal e-cigarette sales, including illegal e-cigarettes themselves and the sale of e-cigarettes to minors.
Lancashire, for example, seized 21501 illegal e-cigarettes in 2024. And in 2024 alone, it conducted 56 tests using underage undercover purchases and found 20 stores illegally selling e-cigarettes to minors.
Liam Humberstone, a member of the Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA) and technical director of e-cigarette shop chain Totally Wicked, believes that encouraging responsible retail practices through economic reasoning is more effective than punitive measures.
He says: “the way to get a retailer to act within the law is not to punish them, is not to shut them down. It is to explain to them that if you want to sell vapes, why would you sell bad vapes to kidspeak when you could be selling good vapes to adults who are smoking?
“The big difference between adults who are smoking, and kids is they have money to afford to be able to vape instead of smoking. So it makes no economic sense whatsoever for stores to be selling illicit products or to be selling them to underage people, because they would do far better if they just became responsible retailers. ”
And the progressing Tobacco and Vapes Bill will consider moving forward with an e-cigarette licensing or permitting retailer and distributor scheme.
Under the regulations, e-cigarette retailers and distributors must pay a fee, comply with strict age verification procedures, and ensure that the products they sell comply with the regulations.
This is likely to make a difference to illegal e-cigarettes and their sale at the merchant level.
