Vaping

The latest public health evidence found that in the short and medium term, vaping is less harmful for users than smoking. Vaping, also known as e-cigarettes, is used as a stop smoking aid by Stop Smoking Services in England and evidence shows that they can be an effective support to quitting.

Messaging and advertising around vaping must be carefully considered, and appropriate regulation is essential to protect uptake in particular among young people. New uptake and trends in the prevalence of vaping, both in relation to previous smokers and those who have never smoked, and the associated health impacts need to be continuously monitored.

A series of independent reports on vaping were commissioned by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), formerly Public Health England. The conclusions were that:

• vaping is not risk-free, particularly for people who have never smoked
• evidence is mostly limited to short- and medium-term effects and studies assessing longer term vaping, for more than 12 months, are necessary
• more standardised and consistent methodologies in future studies would improve interpretation of the evidence

From 1 June 2025, the government introduced a ban on the sale of disposable vapes. This also included new powers to restrict vape flavours specifically marketed at children, and to ensure that manufacturers produce plainer less visually appealing packaging.  

New legislation set out in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will allow the government to change how vapes are displayed in shops. Vapes will be moved out of sight of children and away from products that appeal to them, like sweets. It is anticipated that these legislative changes will positively influence vaping behaviours, particularly among children and young people, by reducing product appeal, accessibility, and exposure.

View a series of independent reports on vaping on the GOV.uk website.

Young people and vaping  

There are rising concerns about young people and their vaping. Exposure to advertising and promotion of vaping products has grown, with an increase in young people reporting seeing vape promotion in recent years. In 2025, the ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) survey found almost three-quarters of 11 to 17 year olds who are aware of vapes said they were exposed to some form of vape promotion, with the main sources being in shops and online.

Under The Tobacco Products Directive (TRPR), advertising on social media platforms are currently not restricted. A study found that amongst young people, more frequent use of social media was associated with increased odds of vaping, with evidence of dose response in associations between time spent on social media and e-cigarette use. Measures set out in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill looks to build on advertising restrictions set out in the TRPR and although not explicitly stated in the bill, it is hopeful this will include social media platforms which are known to be popular among young people.

There is limited data available regarding youth vaping in Stockton-on-Tees. The Health Related Behaviour Survey, developed by the Schools Health Education Unit (SHEU) has asked year 8 and year 10 children about vaping for the last 2 surveys in 2022 and 2024. This is currently the only reflective vaping measure for children at a local level. The SHEU survey relies on self-reporting from children and young people. The potential under or over reporting of vape usage, limits the ability to accurately grasp the extent of the issue.

Unfortunately, there is currently no way of tracking vaping prevalence in children under the age of 11 years. Unreliable evidence would suggest that younger people are using e-cigarettes, although perhaps from an angle of experimentation, rather than being due to dependency. This provides the opportunity for potential future needs analysis, and extension of service provision to younger age categories, particularly from an early intervention and health education angle.

Adults and vaping

Vaping products were originally introduced as a method to help smokers reduce and ultimately quit smoking. However, in recent years there has been an increase in people vaping who have never smoked. Many adults also self-identify as dual-users of both cigarettes and vapes. However, the extent to which this is used as a way to lower and or stop cigarette use is not fully understood.

Data from the most recent ASH survey indicates 1 in 10 adults currently vape, equivalent to 5.5 million adults in Great Britain. Vaping is much more common amongst current and ex-smokers. More than half of current vape users are ex-smokers, equal to 3 million people. However, an estimated 260,000 adults have never smoked but do currently vape.

It is difficult to measure local prevalence of vaping in adults as there are no formal estimates for sub-regional areas. Since April 2023 in Stockton-on-Tees, through the Specialist Stop Smoking Service, a total of 421 vape kits has been provided to clients as part of the Swap to Stop scheme. (This information is correct as of May 2025).

Illegal vaping products can be dangerous due to being unregulated and untested, potentially containing higher levels of nicotine and other substances. In 2024, locally within Stockton-on-Tees, 4,900 illegal vapes were seized or surrendered. Nationally, this figure is 1,193,958 (this doesn't include those seized at ports). Enforcement is becoming more difficult due to organised crime (can be closely linked to sale of illicit tobacco), use of concealment and product innovation.   

In terms of underage sales for vapes, there was a 20% failure rate locally (8 positive sales out of 40 test purchase attempts) compared to 26% failure rate nationally (854 positive sales out of 3,284 test purchase attempts).

Disposable vapes were banned on the 1 June 2025 under Environmental Legislation. These products contain a lithium battery in a plastic device, and they were being discarded in large numbers, with most ending up in landfill. It's been estimated that over a million single use vapes were thrown away every week, amounting to 10 tonnes of lithium a year. This is equivalent to the lithium-ion batteries inside 1,200 electric vehicles. This was a large driver behind the ban on disposable vapes.

Vaping and smoking exposes harmful chemicals to people who do not vape or smoke in similar levels. However, there is exposure to some toxic chemicals from vaping that are higher than for people who don't smoke or vape, although much lower than for people who smoke. Therefore, there is likely to be some risk from long-term vaping, particularly for people who have never smoked.

We need to do all we can to prevent children and young adults who have never smoked taking up vaping.  

Intelligence from local Trading Standards has shown:

• inadequate health warnings are in place - the warnings must cover 30% of two largest surface areas of packaging
• main issues in Stockton-on-Tees are the sale of illegal vapes and the underage sale of vapes to children 

Vaping among young people who have never smoked may be especially concerning as nicotine addiction established at this life-stage could be long-lasting. Addiction could potentially increase the likelihood of cigarette use over the life-course and or risk for psychiatric disorders, future substance use and poor later life cognition.

Vaping among people who have never smoked represents a potential public health concern: 'safer than smoking' may not be the same thing as 'safe'.

Vaping is more likely for youth in disadvantaged than more advantaged groups, especially among youth who had never smoked. Additionally, the unequal uptake of vaping may mirror, or potentially replace, the longstanding socioeconomic rise seen in smoking, which remains more common in disadvantaged groups and considered more health damaging.

The levels of smoking in deprived areas have reduced in recent years and some think this may be due to the introduction of e-cigarettes. Findings were slightly consistent with this notion, but did not examine trends in stopping smoking all together. Further studies on the reduced levels of smoking being impacted over time by e-cigarettes is needed.

The population of Stockton-on-Tees needs:

• more local data on both youth vaping and adult vaping in order to know the true prevalence of vaping in Stockton-on-Tees
• ongoing monitoring on the impact of vaping on health and well-being to gather more information on potential harms
• to recognise the increasing number of children and young people who are vaping and the difficulty balancing the awareness raising for the harm for this, as well as encouraging adult smokers to move to vaping as a quit aid
• to explore the training on offer within Stockton-on-Tees, including 'very brief intervention' training and Making Every Contact Count, and how training around smoking and vaping can be delivered to ensure professionals receive the correct level of training required for their role
• further in-depth insight is needed to understand local vaping trends in adults who vape but have never smoked
• further insight into how schools locally are delivering education around vaping as part of their statutory requirements to identify any gaps
• awareness raising in the general population and particular at-risk groups through strategic communication campaigns such as through Fresh which includes stop smoking and vaping information and resources
• monitoring of new government legalisation, implementation and the impact locally  

The latest public health evidence found that vaping is around 95% safer for users than smoking. Vaping is used as a stop smoking aid by Stop Smoking Services in England and evidence shows that they can be effective to support a quit attempt. It is important that messaging and advertising around vaping is considered, and appropriate regulation is essential to protect uptake among young people. It is important that the uptake of vaping and the health impacts are continuously monitored.

We should continue locally to promote the governments Swap to Stop scheme due to the positive link so far with successful quit attempts. There is currently no support service either locally or nationally, available for anyone who wishes to quit vaping. This is something which may come with time and enhanced understanding of potential vaping harms. 

Utilise the Schools Health Education Unit (SHEU) survey to gain key insights into the vaping attitudes and behaviours of children and young people in Stockton-on-Tees. 

1. Nicotine vaping in England: 2022 evidence update main findings.
2. Read the nicotine vaping in England: an evidence update including health risks and perceptions, 2022 on the GOV.UK website.
3. Use of vapes (e-cigarettes) among young people in Great Britain - ASH.
4. Use of vapes (e-cigarettes) among adults in Great Britain.
5. BMC Public Health - Socioeconomic patterning of vaping by smoking status among UK adults and youth.
6. Hopkinson NS, Vrinten C, Parnham JC, Radó MK, Filippidis F, Vamos EP, et al. Association of time spent on social media with youth cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use in the UK: a national longitudinal study. Thorax. 2024;79(7):662-9
7. Green MJ, Gray L, Sweeting H, Benzeval M. Socioeconomic patterning of vaping by smoking status among UK adults and youth. BMC Public Health. 2020;20:1-11.