Vaping has prevented an estimated 80-100 billion cigarettes from being smoked in Great Britain since 2013, according to new analysis released by campaign group We Vape ahead of World Vape Day on 30 May.
Drawing on government, ONS and ASH data, the organisation said the rise of vaping as a mainstream nicotine alternative has coincided with one of the sharpest declines in smoking prevalence in modern UK history.
Adult smoking rates fell from 18.8 per cent in 2013 to 10.6 per cent in 2024 – a drop of nearly 44 per cent – while the number of adult vapers rose from 1.3 million in 2013 to around 5.5 million in 2025.
We Vape estimates that the shift from combustible tobacco to vapour products has prevented more than one trillion puffs of tobacco smoke from being inhaled.
The group claimed the avoided cigarette volume would be enough to fill up to 400 Wembley Stadiums, wrap around the Earth 200 times or stretch more than 20 round trips to the Moon if lined end-to-end.
Mark Oates, founder of We Vape, said the UK’s embrace of harm reduction had delivered major public health gains.
“This is the clean air victory hiding in plain sight. The UK didn’t just reduce smoking – it reduced smoke itself,” he said.
“Governments globally need to truly and widely recognise the impact harm reduction has had on society. It reduces the burden on healthcare, will likely save and extend millions of lives long-term and has turned people away from combustible tobacco to a vastly safer alternative.”
In 2025, just over 10 per cent of adults in Great Britain vapedData compiled by We Vape
The data also highlighted a sharp fall in smoking among young adults, with smoking prevalence among 18-24-year-olds dropping from 25.7 per cent in 2011 to 8.1 per cent in 2024.
We Vape argued that vaping has succeeded where traditional anti-smoking campaigns struggled by offering smokers a viable alternative to combustible tobacco.
The organisation pointed to Public Health England’s long-standing assessment that vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking, while acknowledging that vaping is not risk-free.
“Our fight continues to spread this message, but on World Vape Day, we should take a moment to acknowledge the successes so far,” Oates added.