# Vape use most common in 25-34 age group, figures show

By Mark Oates — 2026-10-06

As new research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that 25-34 was the only age group to see a rise in e-cigarette use, Mark Oates, founder of We Vape believes vaping is considered by adults to be a mature alternative to smoking.

He said: “We are delighted these figures show a massive decline in smoking. Thanks in large part to vaping, smoking among 18 to 24-year-olds has fallen from 25.7 per cent in 2011 to just 7.2 per cent in 2025, a fall of more than 70 per cent. Fewer than one in 10 adults now smoke, the lowest level on record, and almost three-quarters of people who have ever smoked regularly have quit.

“Vapers now outnumber smokers, 5.4 million against 4.8 million. Cochrane, one of the world’s leading independent authorities on health evidence, has concluded that nicotine vapes help more people quit smoking than traditional nicotine replacement therapies such as patches and gum.

“The Government must therefore recognise the major contribution vaping has made to this enormous public-health success. Millions of smokers have switched to a substantially less harmful alternative, with the potential to prevent huge numbers of premature deaths and reduce the enormous burden smoking places on the NHS.

“The age group most likely to vape is no longer 16 to 24-year-olds but 25 to 34-year-olds, whose vaping rate rose from 12.9 per cent to 16.4 per cent and was the only age group to increase. Far from showing vaping becoming increasingly concentrated among the youngest adults, these figures show the opposite. Smoking continues to decline while vaping increasingly looks like a mature alternative used by adults.

“Ministers said the recent consultation into the packaging, appearance and display of vapes was about protecting children while still helping adult smokers quit. These figures should make them extremely cautious about measures that could undermine that success. Plain packs, grey devices and hidden displays risk making the product replacing cigarettes less visible and less appealing to adult smokers.

“The Government should follow the evidence. Smoking is at a record low, millions of adults are vaping instead, and the youngest adult age group has seen the biggest fall in smoking since 2011. Ministers should be very careful not to damage one of the most significant public-health gains of recent decades.”

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