Scientists estimate that the number of adults in England who have started vaping despite not smoking regularly has reached one million.

This is a rapid growth in 2020, with disposable vapes available from 2021.

This growth is mostly driven by young adults – one in seven 18-24 year olds who never smoked regularly are now using e-cigarettes.

While some people may have benefited from switching to vapes instead of traditional cigarettes – experts say the trend could be worrying.

Dr. Sarah Jackson, lead researcher at University College London (UCL), said the public-health impact of a “substantial increase” in vaping among people who have never smoked regularly depends on whether they would otherwise. What would you be doing?

“It’s likely that some people would smoke if vaping was not an available option,” he said.

“In this case, vaping is clearly less harmful.

“However, for people who did not smoke, vaping regularly for a sustained period poses a greater risk than not vaping at all.”

Researchers looked at a survey of nearly 150,000 adults in England between 2016 and 2024.

Respondents who agreed with the statement: “I never smoke – that is, smoked for a year or more,” were counted as “never regular smokers.”

And between 2016 and 2020, only 0.5% of them vaped.

But by April 2024, this had increased to 3.5%, with more than half of those aged between 18 and 24.

Researchers say that over the past few years, those taking vapes were younger than “never regular smokers”, were more likely to be women and were drinking more alcohol than before.

Study, published in journal Lancet Public Health The journal and funded by the charity Cancer Research UK, also found that overall vaping figures among adults were declining.

Professor Jamie Brown, senior researcher at UCL, said: “These findings are a reminder that action is needed to try to reduce vaping among young people who have never smoked before.

“However, a balancing act is needed to prevent smokers from quitting using e-cigarettes.”

Professor Brown suggested that the current government’s plans to ban disposable vapes were unlikely to be a solution, as popular brands had already launched reusable products that were almost identical in appearance and cost.

“A sensible next step would be to impose strict regulation around product appearance, packaging and marketing,” he said.

Hazel Cheesman, chief executive of campaign group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said the findings could be cause for concern and suggested the focus be on reducing the appeal of vapes by increasing the use of vapes among non-smokers. The best way would be to limit.

“The aggressive marketing of products to young people means the government urgently needs to bring back the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to regulate vape flavours, marketing and branding,” he said.

Peter Hajek, professor of clinical psychology at Queen Mary University of London, said: “Recently released figures from the Office for National Statistics show that smoking prevalence in the UK is below 12%, the lowest it has ever been.

“If less risky alternatives are allowed to continue to compete with cigarettes, smoking – and heart disease, lung disease and the cancers it causes – will also continue to decline.

“The UK and USA, which allow vaping, have seen significantly faster declines in cigarette sales and smoking among young and low-income people than Australia, which bans vaping. ,