UK Vaping Industry Association is concerned by vapers returning to smoking in wake of single use vapes ban

It comes as no surprise to the UK Vaping Industry Association that one in four vapers who previously used disposables, have returned to smoking or switched to illicit products since the single use ban came into effect.

The UKVIA has always held that blanket bans don’t work and actually do more harm than good. We said as much when the move was first announced and urged the government to rethink their plans.

New research from ELFBAR clearly demonstrates that we were right to be concerned and highlights the scale of the problem.

The survey of 6,000 UK vapers and smokers also shows that awareness of illicit vapes is increasing and reflects previous survey findings that the misperceptions about the relative harms or vaping and smoking are worryingly high.

The findings include:

• One in four (26%) single-use vapers have turned to illegal vapes, started smoking more or returned to tobacco following the ban.
• More than half of adults (51%) incorrectly believe that vaping is as, or more, harmful than smoking and
• One in five (22%) respondents are aware of illegal vapes being sold in their area, which is up from 19% in December 2024

UKVIA Director General John Dunne said: “Successive governments have made huge play about how they need to bring down smoking rates to achieve a smoke-free UK but they seem to completely overlook the vital role that vaping can play here.

“Vaping is by far the best way to help adult smokers quit and the single use devices were the most popular vaping products to help them do so.

“It never made any sense to us to ban this entire category and now we have concrete evidence that more than a quarter of vapers have either resumed smoking, increased tobacco use or purchased illicit products since the ban.

“Any one of those outcomes would be bad enough but all three combined should be deeply worrying and urgent action must be taken to reverse this trend. If these are the numbers we are seeing after two months then I dread to think where we will be in a year’s time.”

John said it was now clearer than ever that a multi-faceted approach was needed to reverse the trend and to reach the remaining six million adult smokers in the UK.

The UKVIA is calling for:

• A nationwide public health information campaign to highlight that vaping represents only a fraction of the risks of smoking. This would combat growing misperceptions about the relative risks which are preventing smokers from switching.
• The introduction of a vape licensing scheme – similar to alcohol licensing – to ensure only legitimate retailers can sell vaping products and discourage those who are tempted to break the law.
• Use income generated from vape licensing (upwards of £50M a year) to fund a robust enforcement programme across the country to ensure Trading Standards have sufficient dedicated resource to effectively clamp down on lawbreakers.
• Bring in fines of £10,000 – per instance – for those convicted of selling to minors or selling illicit or illegal products, with the loss of the vape license for persistent offenders.

Dunne added: “We literally have the very best tool at our disposal to help ensure a smoke-free UK but we are not using it effectively and, as a result, 220 smokers in the UK are dying prematurely every day.

“Instead of imposing blanket bans which makes it harder for the legitimate, law-abiding vape industry to help smokers quit, let’s focus on those who sell to children and are prepared to flood the market with illegal or illicit products.

“It is only by making the consequences of flouting the law so prohibitive that it is not worth taking the risk and by educating smokers that vaping is a far better option for consuming nicotine that we can drive down smoking rates once and for all.”

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