In Großbritannien überholt das Dampfen erstmals das Rauchen. Laut ONS-Daten stieg die Zahl der Dampfer ab 16 Jahren im Jahr 2024 auf 5,4 Millionen im Vergleich zu 4,9 Millionen Rauchern

Vaping has overtaken smoking for the first time in Britain despite a decline in popularity among Gen Z, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

There were 5.4mn vapers aged 16 and over in Britain in 2024 compared with 4.9mn smokers, according to official statistics published on Tuesday. The share of adults who are current smokers fell from 10.5 per cent in 2023 to 9.1 per cent in 2024, the lowest level since records began in 1974.

The data comes after recent analysis showed the UK-wide ban on single-use vapes introduced in June had not stopped shops from stocking throwaway devices, as experts warn sweet flavours and colourful packaging are helping to create a growing nicotine addiction problem among adolescents.

However, while vaping remains most common among 16 to 24-year-olds, its popularity in that age range has declined from its 2023 peak of 15.8 per cent to 13 per cent in 2024.

Young women vape at higher rates than their male peers, but the reverse is true among over-35s. Almost 16 per cent of women aged 16 to 24 vape compared with 10.6 per cent of men of this age.

Lion Shahab, professor of health psychology at University College London, said the ban on disposable vapes had helped to reduce vaping rates among younger generations, adding that “the increasing uptake of [nicotine] pouches is bound to contribute” to the decline.

Celebrities, including Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson, have helped to drive a surge in the popularity of pouches — sachets of nicotine that are placed between the lip and gum — such as Zyn, especially among college-aged men.

Less than 3 per cent of over-15s who have never smoked reported using a vape daily or occasionally, compared with a third of current smokers and a fifth of ex-smokers.

Young men were the only age group to record a rise in smoking rates in the latest figures.

The share of 16 to 24-year-old men who are current smokers rose from 7.1 per cent in 2023 to 8.5 per cent in 2024, but rates have fallen sharply in recent years and are less than half of what they were in 2019.

Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of charity Action on Smoking and Health, said that while vaping had almost certainly contributed to the fall in smoking, “the concerns about non-smokers and young people taking up vaping remain”.

“New powers to further regulate vapes in the tobacco and vapes bill are a good opportunity to maintain the current trends by restricting marketing and reinforcing the role of vapes as a quitting tool,” she added.

The legislation, which is being examined in the House of Lords, is intended to create a “smoke-free generation” by banning the sale of tobacco to people born after 2008.

Smoking remains far more common in parts of the country with high levels of deprivation, among the unemployed and people with lower levels of education, the data showed.

The tobacco and vapes bill is also set to introduce restrictions on how vapes are displayed, their packaging and flavours, reducing their appeal to young adults.

“However, it is important to bear in mind that such legislation may also have unintended consequences,” added Shahab. “Current smokers should not be discouraged from switching to less harmful products — a fall in vaping rates, especially in older people, may not be a good thing.”