The Rising Vape & E-Cigarette Culture in the UK

The Political Perspective

Vapes and e-cigarettes are becoming the subject of genuine political discussion, as seen recently by the actions of Welsh Conservative MP Natasha Asghar.

Asghar, who is in her 30's and represents South Wales East in the Senedd, called on First Minister Mark Drakeford and the Welsh Government to "help promote e-cigarettes to encourage existing smokers to quit smoking" at First Minister's Questions in October 2022.

Her campaign - for NHS Wales to prescribe vapes to quitting smokers - has a personal connection to it, with one of her constituencies in particular suffering acutely from the issue. "In my region of south-east Wales, we have the highest smoking rate which is currently in Merthyr Tydfil, where 23% of adults are actually smokers, which is higher than both the Welsh and UK averages." Asghar said two constituencies with these high rates are also "quite high in the rates of illiteracy and numeracy", and that tangible action is needed to arrest these trends.

She believes vapes and e-cigarettes offer a possible solution after seeing the evidence in her day-to-day life. "I actually have two members of my own staff who used to be ex-smokers and now they are full-fledged vapers."

As well as the rising price of cigarettes and the current cost-of-living crisis, Asghar said many people switched to vaping during the pandemic due to its "accessibility" online, and having experienced a "very different lifestyle change" during that period.

The proposed initiative, which she said could "be rolled out in potentially a few areas or regions" to begin with, would also help quitting smokers keep up their daily habits. "It's that regularity of being able to go outside and hold something, that continuity of a task almost which is smoking, they need to be able to have that feeling."

However, Asghar is aware that the devices may not be perfect, and whilst she understands that "it's not every single individual's cup of tea", she feels now is the time for the government to "put our money where our mouth is".

"Give [people] that chance to try it, because ultimately the NHS spends so much money on treatments for cancers that are actually caused from long-term smoking."

And what about those who believe vaping encourages young people to smoke at a young age? "Yes, that's there - I can't deny that and there will always be that fear factor. But I think it just needs to be sensibly sold to people."

Asghar is bullish about keeping strict age limits for the purchasing of vapes and e-cigarettes, and said the fact that they have a "social connotation" to them will have to change as an attitude as "any addiction is not a good addiction".

She said that recent changes in government have made progress on her plans tricky, but that she has written to many ministers on the matter and is waiting to hear back. Therefore, for now at least, NHS-prescribed vapes remain just an idea.

The Charity Perspective

Whilst changes for vaping and e-cigarettes are being pursued at a governmental level, where do other public health bodies stand on their benefits?

John Waldron, 29, has been working for public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) for four years. The organization has campaigned for legislative and regulation change to tobacco sales and usage for over half a century. It also engages with local authorities and the NHS to support and increase the scale of their work for smokers.

John explained that the research on vapes and e-cigarettes as quitting tools for smoking is undoubtedly impressive. "Evidence over the last ten years since e-cigarettes have emerged shows that they are a very effective tool for people who smoke and want to quit."

"A recent big evidence review [the Cochrane Review] found that e-cigarettes are around 63% more effective than licensed nicotine replacement products, like patches, gum [and] the stuff you can get in pharmacies."

He admitted that ASH are "really positive about the potential for e-cigarettes", both in their mission to eradicate tobacco and their role in reaching the government's smoke-free England target, but that they are "one important tool in the toolbox" and should not be considered the de-facto solution.

"Whilst we do want to promote them and really maximise their use for quitting, we can't put all our eggs in one basket. There's a whole range of tried and tested tobacco control strategies that we've been using for many years, things like traditional stop smoking services [and] increasing tax on tobacco."

John said the public perception did not match this, however, as despite the research findings, around a third of current smokers in Great Britain believe that e-cigarettes are as harmful or more harmful than tobacco cigarettes.

Even more surprisingly, he said the younger generation, those who only use disposables, are not the main driving force behind the growing vape craze. "We know that the majority of adults in GB who are vaping are ex-smokers... The next biggest group is people who are current smokers. A very small proportion of adults who have never smoked are vaping."

John said one of the key aspects when analysing young vapers is understanding the difference between experimentation and long-term addiction. "You would see lots of people experimenting now with e-cigarettes... but we're not seeing that turn in to high rates of regular, current use." He also explained there is no hard data linking vapes and e-cigarettes to later cigarette usage. "You don't want these products to become a gateway into smoking, but that's not what we're seeing and haven't seen since we started our survey almost a decade ago now."

However, John was keen to stress that vapes must only remain a tool for those already addicted to nicotine products. "Whilst they're much less harmful than cigarettes, they're not 100% risk-free, so if you don't smoke then of course you shouldn't vape."

The Proprietor's Perspective

Don Nguyen, 45, runs Soho Vape City on Queen Victoria Street in the City of London. His store, opened in May 2021, is an extension of another vape shop located in the Soho area of the city. It mainly caters for office staff working in nearby buildings on weekdays.

Don says he tries all of his products before selling them, taking on an advisory role for interested customers and allowing his store to be more "specialised" in the rapidly growing vape market.

"We have loads of different types of machines, new machines coming on to the market, different liquids, pod systems, disposables, and we specialise in that because it's our business to know what we're selling and to bring out new innovations."

Don says imparting his knowledge of vapes and e-cigarettes to customers is crucial, to help them understand both what they will enjoy and whether what they've heard about the products, including possible health concerns, is true.

"We're here to reassure our clients that the misinformation they might have picked up needs to be looked at again."

As a young business opening the midst of a global pandemic, Don admits some of the new working habits adopted by Londoners have made certain periods of the year busier than others.

"In summer we get more clients, because there's more tourists around, but the 'working from home' hybrid system has not helped in terms of growing the business. But we're hopeful that change going forward."

Underneath the main product shelf, Don has several vape recycling boxes that he ordered from vape brand SMOK. Their 'Vape & Save Disposable Recycling Project', launched at the start of 2022, encourages vendors to send back used, disposable SMOK vapes in the boxes so they can be treated and the environmental impact is lessened. In return, the store receives new, free stock.

Soho Vape City is one of many specialised vape or e-cigarette shops in central London, but finds itself in a less crowded local area than its sister store...