One in ten adults in Britain use vapes – the highest rate ever – according to recent estimates.
Analysis from the charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) suggests 11 per cent of the population – equivalent to 5.6 million people – use e-cigarettes.
Experts say vaping is less harmful than smoking cigarettes but is ‘not risk free’ and should only be used as an aid to quit.
The Smokefree GB analysis, based on data collected by YouGov, also revealed more than half of vapers – around three million people – are former smokers.
It also found a growing group of ex-smokers were vaping longer-term, with half using e-cigarettes for more than three years.
The number of smokers who are using vapes as well as traditional cigarettes has also doubled in the past three years.
And some 8 per cent of adults who use e-cigarettes have never smoked before.
Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive of Ash, said: ‘Smoking is still the country’s biggest preventable killer and vaping is one of many tools needed to help smokers quit if we are to create a smoke-free country for current as well as future generations.’
She added that proposed legislation should focus on deterring children from vaping rather than adults seeking to quit smoking.
‘Government must also communicate more effectively that vaping is less harmful than smoking but not risk-free, and should only be used as an aid to quitting,’ Ms Cheeseman said. ‘We would much rather see people stopping using any form of nicotine long term.’
Last month the Government revived plans to introduce the Tobacco and Vapes Bill that could progressively increase the legal age to buy cigarettes and prevent anyone born after January 1, 2009, ever being able to do so.
It could also lead to restrictions on the flavours, packaging and display of vapes. A separate study from University College London showed the use of e-cigarettes by young adults had tripled in two years.
The number of 18 to 24-year-olds who vaped rose from 9 per cent in 2021 to 29 per cent in 2023, which experts blamed on the popularity of disposable varieties.
Half of smokers told the YouGov survey they think e-cigarettes are equally or more harmful than smoking.
Leonie Brose, a professor of addictions at King’s College London, said: ‘More than half of people who smoke long term will die prematurely due to smoking.
‘Alarmingly, half of those who smoke think vaping is just as harmful or more harmful and almost as many are unaware that nicotine-containing medication is less harmful than smoking.
‘These misperceptions are costing lives and we need continued focus on reducing the harms from smoking.’
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: ‘While vaping can be an effective tool to stop smoking, the health advice is clear: children and adults that do not smoke should never vape.
‘The upcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill will protect future generations from the harms of tobacco and nicotine, saving thousands of lives and easing pressures on the NHS.
‘By building a healthier society, we will help to build a healthy economy.’