Almost 1 in 10 secondary school pupils currently vape, new NHS survey shows
A quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds have tried vaping and nearly 1 in 10 (9%) do it frequently, according to new statistics published today.
The Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England report for 2023 showed regular or occasional vaping in high school children had increased from 6% in 2018.
The report also shows only 11% of young people have smoked at least once, the lowest level recorded by the survey.
The NHS is supporting the government’s ambition for a smoke-free generation by 2030, with a focus on stopping people from starting to smoke. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable illness and deaths in adults and treating the health issues it causes costs the NHS around £2.5 billion each year.
Matt Fagg, NHS England’s Director for Prevention and Long-Term Conditions said: “It is incredibly concerning that almost 1 in ten young people regularly or occasionally vape – it means they are at risk of becoming hooked on one of the world’s most addictive substances, and that is before we consider the longer-term impacts which are still unclear.
“We welcome the government’s commitment to tackle the promotion of e-cigarettes to children and young people through legislation at the earliest opportunity and look forward to working with them and other partners to help the next generation grow up smoke and vape-free”.
Minister for Public Health and Prevention Andrew Gwynne said: “It’s very worrying to see a quarter of pupils tried vaping last year. The health advice is clear that children and adult non-smokers should never vape, so it is unacceptable to see unscrupulous retailers marketing them at children.
“Through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, we will stop vapes from being deliberately branded to target children, protecting future generations from becoming hooked on nicotine and ensuring the next generation grows up smoke and vape free”.
The report also includes results from a biennial survey of secondary school pupils in England in school years 7 to 11, with questions on smoking, drinking and drug use as well as wellbeing and anxiety.
For the first time, this year’s survey asked pupils about loneliness, with 10% of participants saying they felt lonely often or all the time, and 18% said they often felt they had no one to talk to.
Today’s statistics also showed that the number of young people taking drugs has also decreased, with 13% of pupils reported having ever taken drugs, compared to 18% in 2021.
Cannabis is the drug pupils were most likely to have taken, with 7% saying they had ever taken it, a similar proportion to 2021. Those reporting taking class A drugs has remained at around 2% to 4% since 2010.
More than a third of pupils (37%) said they had ever had an alcoholic drink, which was a similar level to 2021.
Read the full Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England 2023 report.
Notes to editors
1. This is a press release that refers to official statistics and is handled in line with T3.8 of the code of practice for statistics.
2. The last Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England 2021 report was published in 2022.
3. The current report contains results from the latest survey conducted by Ipsos UK of secondary school pupils in England in years 7 to 11 (mostly aged 11 to 15), focusing on smoking, drinking and drug use. Between September 2023 and March 2024, 13,387 pupils in England were surveyed across 185 schools (with 13,192 included in the survey sample). The survey covers a range of topics including prevalence, habits, attitudes, and wellbeing. It is usually run every 2 years.
4. For 2023, the survey was conducted online (rather than on paper) with schools administering the survey. The switch to an online survey, including the ability to automatically route students to the next relevant question based on their answers, meant all pupils could complete the full survey in a school period. Full details of the changes to the survey are available in the methodology change document and within appendix A of the publication. An assessment of the impacts of the changes to SDD 2023 is available in the data quality statement.
5. This survey collects information from a sample of the population. The sample is designed to represent the whole population as accurately as possible within practical constraints, such as time and cost. Consequently, statistics based on the survey are estimates, rather than precise figures, and are subject to a margin of error, also known as a 95% confidence interval. Appendix B, section 2 covers how sampling errors were calculated. Where differences are commented on, these reflect the same degree of certainty that these differences are real, and not just within the margins of sampling error. These differences can be described as statistically significant, implying no more than a 5% chance that any reported difference is not a real one but a consequence of sampling error. Some apparently large differences which are not statistically significant have been annotated in the report so users are aware of this.
6. E-cigarette (vaping) prevalence is categorised by: regular users (defined as usually using an e-cigarette at least once per week); occasional users (defined as using an e-cigarette sometimes but less than once per week); ever used an e-cigarette (defined as ex-users and those who reported using e-cigarettes just once or twice in total). Current users include both regular and occasional users.
7. In 2023, 9% of young people reported current e-cigarette use – this is the same level as in 2021. This is up from 6% in 2018.
8. A quarter of young people surveyed (25%) reported they had ever used e-cigarettes, compared to 22% in 2021. This was not a significant change.
9. Cigarette smoking prevalence is categorised by: regular smokers (defined as usually smoking at least one cigarette per week); occasional smokers (defined as usually smoking less than one cigarette per week); non-smokers. The term ‘current smoker’ used in this report includes regular and occasional smokers.
10. Drug prevalence is measured by: ever taken drugs, taken drugs in the last year and taken drugs in the last month.
