Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has responded to an NHS Digital Survey on Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England. The survey included questions about vaping (electronic cigarettes) for the first time and showed 9% of 11-15 year olds were using e-cigarettes, as well as:
- Disposable e-cigarettes are now the most used product among current vapers aged 11-17, up more than 7-fold from 7% in 2020 and 8% in 2021, to 52% in 2022. Elf Bar and Geek Bar are overwhelmingly the most popular, with only 30% of current users having tried any other brands.
- Over half (56%) of 11-17 year olds reported being aware of e-cigarette promotion, most frequently in shops, or online, with awareness highest amongst those who’d ever vaped (72%). Tik Tok was the most frequently cited source of online promotion (45%) followed by Instagram (31%).
The full NHS report is accessible here.
Deborah Arnott Chief Executive of ASH said: “The NHS Digital survey shows the same concerning rise in underage vaping as ASH data published in July. Schools, parents and local authorities are looking for help, and ASH has just published guidance on how to tackle youth vaping, available on our website. But while further action on vaping is needed, it is still only a small minority of children vaping and it is encouraging to see that the NHS Digital survey finds youth smoking has continued to decline, as smoking is far more harmful than vaping.”
The ASH guidance for schools and local authorities, and the factsheet setting out a more detailed analysis of youth vaping than available from the NHS Digital survey can be found here:
https://ash.org.uk/resources/view/ash-brief-for-local-authorities-on-youth-vaping
