Number of UK smokers falling but vaping on rise

THE proportion of smokers in the UK has fallen to its lowest level on record, with statisticians saying vaping has played a “major role” in this drop.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that 13.3 per cent of people aged 18 and over in the UK smoked cigarettes in 2021, the equivalent of around 6.6 million people.

This is the lowest proportion of current smokers since records started in 2011, when it stood at 20.2%.

The ONS said there had been a “statistically significant” drop in the proportion of smokers from 14% of the population in 2020.

But Scotland still has the highest proportion of current smokers at 14.8%, with the lowest in England at 13.0%.

Wales and Northern Ireland reported 14.1% and 13.8% current smokers respectively, the ONS said.

Men were more likely to be current smokers in 2021, with 15.1% of men smoking compared with 11.5% of women in the UK.

People aged 25 to 34 years had the highest proportion of current smokers at 15.8%, the ONS said, while those aged 65 and over had the lowest at 8.0%.

The ONS said that people who had no qualifications were more likely to be current smokers at 28.2% compared to those whose highest level of education was a degree or equivalent at 6.6%.

The ONS said: “There has been a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of smokers from 2020 (14% of the population).

Meanwhile, the ONS said that in Great Britain, 7.7% of those aged 16 and over surveyed in August and September last year said they currently used an e-cigarette daily or occasionally, equating to around four million adults in the population.

This is an increase from 2020, when 6.4% of people reported daily or occasional e-cigarette use.

The ONS said that vaping devices such as e-cigarettes had played a “major role” in reducing the prevalence of smoking across the UK.

Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) welcomed the drop but warned the Government must not get “complacent”.

She said: “Smoking is still the biggest cause of preventable illness and death, so the progress shown today is great news.”