At the end of 2024, a smoking ban was introduced in the UK, making buying cigarettes illegal for anyone currently aged 15 or under to ultimately create a smoke-free generation. This ban was aimed at tackling the detrimental effects of smoking, one of the UK’s leading causes of preventable death, attributing to around 80,000 deaths per year. In 2023, before the ban was enacted, about one percent of
declared themselves to be regular smokers, while two percent stated they smoked occasionally. As of 2022, 14 percent of men and 11 percent of women in England were
. This share was slightly higher in
Health risks of smoking
Between 2022 and 2023, the number of
admissions to NHS hospitals that were caused by smoking amounted to over 2.5 million in England, resulting in a significant economic burden on the NHS. Smoking is responsible for one out of four deaths from cancer, and the number of
admissions to NHS hospitals for cancers that were caused by smoking reached over 870,600 cases between 2022 and 2023. It is now well known that smoking during pregnancy is harmful for the fetus and the mother, and it is associated with various pregnancy complications, as well as greater risk of poor fetal growth and low birth weight, premature delivery, as well as stillbirth. Nevertheless, about 7.6 percent of
women were still smoking during pregnancy in England between 2023 and 2024. This share is much lower compared to the early 2000s, but still very high considering all the scientific evidence on the detrimental effects of smoking during pregnancy.
Vaping and e-cigarettes
E-cigarettes and vapes have increased in popularity in Great Britain, with an initial focus on these products being a route to quit smoking. Restrictions on vaping are also being introduced as a result of the steep rise in consumption, especially among people under 35, some of whom never smoked cigarettes before. As with vapes,
e-cigarettes are mostly used among the younger population, with almost one-fifth of people aged between 11- and 18-years smoking e-cigarettes, with this share dropping to around five percent when considering
all daily users over 16 years old.
The ban of single-use disposable vapes from June 2025 is also a big win from an environmental perspective as they create a significant amount of waste. Therefore, the ban will not only help to improve the health of the population but the environment as well.
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