Changes in vaping trends since the announcement of an impending ban on disposable vapes: A population study in Great Britain

Abstract Background/Aim There has been a rapid rise in vaping prevalence among youth and young adults in Great Britain since disposable vapes started to become popular in 2021. In January 2024, the government announced plans to introduce new vaping policies, including a ban on disposable vapes, to tackle youth vaping. This study measured whether trends in current vaping and use of disposable vapes have changed since this announcement. Methods Segmented regression analysis of data collected monthly between January 2022 and January 2025 as part of the Smoking Toolkit Study, a representative household survey in Great Britain. We ran generalised additive models using data from all participants aged ≥16y ( n = 88 611; ‘adults’) and from a subset aged 16‐24y ( n = 9276; ‘young adults’). Main outcome measures were changes in trends in (a) the prevalence of current vaping and (b) the proportion of vapers mainly using disposable devices. Results Before January 2024, vaping prevalence was increasing by 23.4% per year relative risk (RR) trend = 1.234, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.184–1.287 and use of disposable vapes was increasing by 17.7% per year (RR trend = 1.177, 95% CI = 1.105–1.255). These trends changed after the new policy measures were announced (RR Δtrend = 0.782, 95% CI = 0.696–0.878, and RR Δtrend = 0.573, 95% CI = 0.487–0.673, respectively). Instead of increasing, vaping prevalence stabilised and there was a substantial decline in the proportion of vapers mainly using disposables from 43.6% (40.1–47.3%) in January 2024 to 29.4% (26.3–32.9%) in January 2025. Similar changes were observed among young adults (vaping prevalence: RR Δtrend = 0.799, 95% CI = 0.645–0.990; use of disposable vapes: RR Δtrend = 0.547, 95% CI = 0.435–0.688), with vaping prevalence stabilising between January 2024 and January 2025 and the proportion of vapers mainly using disposables falling from 63.2% (58.8–67.8%) to 35.2% (30.4–40.8%). Conclusions Following the announcement of an impending ban on disposable vapes and other potential vaping policies, recent increases in vaping prevalence in Great Britain stalled, including among young adults. In addition, there was a shift away from using disposable vapes, with people increasingly opting to use devices that can be refilled and recharged.