3.6m of us now vape as smoking sinks to a record low

MORE Britons are vaping than ever before as growing numbers of smokers quit tobacco for e-cigarettes, a study found.

The figure of 3.6million users – a rise of 12.5 per cent in a year – means around 7 per cent of the UK vapes, compared with 15 per cent who smoke.

More than half of vapers are ex-smokers, the poll discovered, with around 31 per cent of ex-smokers saying their main reason for vaping was to help them quit tobacco.

Vaping is most popular among those aged 35 to 44, with 9.5 per cent using e-cigarettess, and among 45 to 54-year-olds at 9.3 per cent.

The lowest rates were found among 18 to 24-year-olds at 4.3 per cent, and the over-55s at 5.6 per cent.

Deborah Arnott, of the antismoking charity Ash, which commissioned the poll of more than 12,000 adults, said: ‘E-cigarettes have been shown to be a very effective aid for smokers trying to quit, either on their own or with help from stop smoking services.’

She said recent reports in the US of illnesses linked to vaping were ‘obviously concerning’, but appeared to be linked to the misuse of e-cigarettes to take illicit drugs.

‘Nothing like this has been seen in the UK to date, where a proper regulatory system is in place for nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, which is not yet the case in the US,’ she said.

Ann McNeill, professor of tobacco addiction at King’s College London, said: ‘Vaping isn’t risk free, but it’s much less risky than smoking, which kills nearly 100,000 people a year in the UK.’

‘Obviously concerning’