The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has demanded an immediate shift in government policy following official figures that show adult smoking rates dropped to 9.8% in 2025. The trade body cautions that upcoming fiscal restrictions and retail bans threaten to derail the nation's progress toward becoming smoke-free.
ONS Data Confirms Long-Term Smoking Decline
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals that approximately 4.9 million adults aged 18 and over smoked cigarettes in 2025. This marks an overall decline of 10.4 percentage points since the tracking series began in 2011.
Meanwhile, e-cigarette adoption remained steady, with 5.4 million adults aged 16 and over (9.9% of the population) vaping daily or occasionally in 2025, compared to 10% in 2024.
| Category | 2024 Prevalence | 2025 Prevalence | Net Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult Smokers | 10.6% | 9.8% (4.9 million) | -0.8% |
| Adult Vapers | 10.0% | 9.9% (5.4 million) | -0.1% |
Vaping Duty Threatens Harm Reduction Progress
Despite these public health gains, UKVIA warned that current legislative proposals could force consumers back toward traditional tobacco. The Vaping Products Duty (VPD), which recently took effect, increases the price of regulated vaping products by up to 264%.
A UKVIA survey of nearly 3,500 adult vapers indicated that 50% fear higher taxes will push them back to smoking or toward unregulated black-market suppliers. Research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research projects that 946,000 vapers could return exclusively to smoking, creating £306.6 million in avoidable public healthcare and productivity expenses.
Industry Demands a "Fair Deal for Vaping"
UKVIA Director General John Dunne stressed that regulatory policy must balance youth prevention with adult access to harm reduction tools:
"The latest ONS figures show just how far Britain has come in tackling smoking, with rates once again at a record low and vaping playing an undeniable role in driving that progress. A growing list of policies and proposals risk making vapes harder to choose and less accessible for the very people who rely on them."
The association is calling on the government to adopt a proportionate regulatory framework. This approach includes reviewing the VPD rate, protecting core flavours for adult switchers, and directing enforcement resources toward illicit sellers and underage sales networks.
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