There are a number of conclusions to draw from ASH’s latest numbers (ASH Smokefree GB adults and youth survey results 2023), but one undeniable fact is that the rate of growth for under-18’s who regularly vape has slowed significantly. While the Government goal must be a reduction in the numbers, the big jump in youth vaping in 2021 has not continued at anything like the same pace (occasional or regular vaping had gone up from 3.2% to 6.9%, but last year went from 6.9% to 7.6%). Last year’s numbers were referred to as a new vaping epidemic and the rapid growth was rightly a cause for concern, but the lack of a significant rise this time round is better news entirely.
What we really want to see from these numbers is a rapid fall in the rate of youth vaping as the Government ramps up efforts to effectively police the sale of vapes to teenagers. The research also shows that the most popular place for 11-17 year olds to buy vapes is from corner shops and newsagents, so stopping these rogue retailers from breaking the law must be a priority. Interestingly, a very low proportion are buying vapes online, presumably because it is much easier to police the use of effective age verification tools. As we’ve said time and again, let’s police the sale of vapes effectively, fine rogue retailers £10,000 on the spot and empower Trading Standards to remove their ability to sell vapes again.
There was also a significant rise in 11-17 year olds trying vapes ‘once or twice’, up from 7.7% to 11.6%, but we’ve seen similarly high numbers for experimentation in the past, such as in 2018 when the number was 10%. Difficult to know why it jumped nearly 4 percentage points in the last year – or why it was down around 3 percentage points between 2018 and 2022, but either way, we all need to work towards reducing youth vaping across the board.