Is vaping bad for you and how are the rules changing?

The number of adults and young people using e-cigarettes and vapes has increased as smoking rates have fallen.

Labour says it will take forward the previous, Conservative government’s plans to stop vapes being marketed to children, to help create a smoke-free generation.

Using e-cigarettes or vapes is nowhere near as harmful as smoking cigarettes.

However, health experts agree anyone who does not smoke should not start vaping.

Doctors say vaping may cause long-term damage to young people’s lungs, hearts and brains.

The vapour inhaled contains a small amount of chemicals, often including the addictive substance nicotine.

More research is needed to fully understand the health effects of e-cigarettes.

But in December 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) said: “Alarming evidence on their adverse population health effects is mounting.”

Illegal vapes are also widely available and are much more likely to contain other harmful chemicals or drugs, such as cannabis.

• Thousands of illegal vapes seized in South West

Cigarettes contain tobacco, tar and a host of cancer-causing toxic chemicals and are the largest preventable cause of illness and death in the UK.

About half of all lifelong smokers will die early, losing on average about 10 years of life.

That is why people who smoke are urged to stop, with nicotine vapes the most effective quit tool – better than nicotine patches or gum.

Research suggests people having face-to-face support while using vapes can be up to twice as likely to stop smoking than those using other methods.

But vaping is not harmless, so it is only recommended for adult smokers, who are offered free vape kits on the NHS to help them quit as part of its “swap to stop” programme.

The NHS says thousands of people have given up smoking using vaping as an alternative.

• NHS: Vaping myths and facts

Fewer people in the UK are smoking than ever before – about 12% of the population, or six million, in 2023.

Fewer than one out of every 10 young adults in the UK smoke cigarettes, compared with a quarter of 18-24-year-olds 12 years ago, according to official estimates.

As smoking has declined, vape use has risen sharply, with the highest rate – nearly 16% – among 16-24-year-olds.

But since 2022, the biggest increase has been among 25-34-year-olds.

About 5.1 million people in the country used a vape or e-cigarette in 2023. Just under 6% of people aged 16 or over vaped every day, up slightly from the previous year, while another 3.9% did so occasionally.

According to research published in The Lancet, in October, the number of people in England who vape despite never having been regular smokers has increased significantly.

E-cigarette use among this group was stable until 2021, when one out of every 200 – about 133,000 people – vaped.

But the proportion is now one in 28 – just over a million people.

• Sharp rise in vaping among young adult non-smokers

It is illegal to sell vapes containing nicotine to under-18s, or for adults to buy them on their behalf.

But vape use among younger teenagers is also growing.

Nearly 8% of 11-17-year-olds vaped in April 2023, according to figures from an online survey of 2,000 children by health charity ASH (Action on Smoking and Health). That was up from 4% in 2020.

It said 20% of this age group had tried vaping, with cheap, brightly coloured disposable vapes driving the increase from 14% three years ago.

Vaping is now twice as common as smoking among children.

As part of its plans to create a smoke-free generation, the previous, Conservative government announced changes to the rules around vapes, including:

• a ban on disposable vapes, to be introduced in April 2025
• a new tax on vaping products, to be introduced in October 2026
• marketing restrictions on vapes to make them less appealing to young people
• increased fines for retailers who sold vapes to under-18s

However, the Conservative Tobacco and Vapes Bill had not become law before Parliament was dissolved ahead of the July general election.

Labour had previously backed the proposals and, once in government, said it would introduce its own Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

Setting out its policy priorities, in the King’s Speech, in July 2024, it said the bill would:

• introduce a progressive smoking ban to gradually end the sale of tobacco products across the country
• stop vapes being branded and advertised to appeal to children, regulating the flavours, packaging and display of vapes and other nicotine products
• give Trading Standards more power to prevent under-age sales of tobacco and vapes

Campaigners say the materials and chemicals used to make vapes – including their lithium batteries – make them difficult to dispose of safely.

They can be recycled, but research published in 2023 suggested only 17% of vapers did so.

An estimated five million disposable vapes are thrown away each week in the UK.

The US has prohibited some vape flavours like mint and fruit in particular e-cigarettes.

However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reversed the 2022 ban on products sold by Juul, one of the country’s biggest e-cigarette companies.

The FDA said a full review of Juul’s products was pending.

The company previously settled more than 5,000 US vaping legal actions, after being accused of targeting teenagers.

Separately, it agreed to pay hundreds of millions to end a review of its advertising practices.

In Australia e-cigarettes containing nicotine are generally available on prescription only, for smokers who want to give up tobacco. And pharmacies do not sell disposable vapes.

New Zealand brought in new rules in 2023, banning most disposable vapes and targeting flavours which appeal to children.

Countries including South Korea, India and Brazil have also brought in very strict vape rules, while China has announced restrictions.

However, 88 countries have no minimum age for buying vapes, and 74 have no laws in place for e-cigarettes, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).