More than half of Welsh adults who have heard of vapes believe they are as harmful as smoking or more harmful, according to new research from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Wales.
The organisation found that 54 per cent of adults in Wales who had heard of vapes wrongly believed vaping was equally or more harmful than cigarettes.
Among current smokers who had heard of vapes, the figure was 53 per cent, according to ASH Wales’ 2026 Annual Population Survey, conducted by YouGov.
The findings come as the Vaping Products Duty (VPD) has come into force across the UK, with ASH Wales calling for clearer public information about the relative harms of smoking and vaping.
The new duty took effect on 1 October, charging £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid, whether or not it contains nicotine. Tobacco duty also increased on the same date, with an additional rise intended to maintain a price differential between vaping and smoking.
ASH Wales said the findings highlighted a gap in public understanding at a time when vaping remains an important tool for adult smokers trying to quit.
Public Health Wales states that vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking, although it is not risk-free. ASH Wales also pointed to an updated Cochrane review which found high-certainty evidence that nicotine vapes help more people stop smoking for at least six months than nicotine replacement therapy such as patches or gum.
In Wales, the Smoking Toolkit Study identifies vapes as the most commonly used aid in smoking quit attempts.
The findings are consistent with ASH's July 2026 report on the use of vapes and other novel tobacco and nicotine products among adults in Great Britain. That survey, based on 13,259 adults, found that 52 per cent of adults who smoke believed vaping was as harmful as, or more harmful than, smoking.
Suzanne Cass, chief executive of ASH Wales, said clearer information was needed for adults who smoke.
“Vaping is not risk-free, and children and people who do not smoke should not start. But adults who smoke need to know that switching completely to vaping is less harmful than continuing to smoke and can help them quit,” she said.
ASH Wales said it supported measures to prevent vapes being available to children at pocket-money prices, but called for adults who smoke to have access to clear information and affordable routes away from tobacco.
It is calling on the Welsh government and public health partners to invest in information about the relative harms of smoking and vaping, alongside accessible stop-smoking support.
It also wants the UK and Welsh governments to monitor the impact of VPD on affordability, smoking and vaping, particularly among people on lower incomes.
Smoking remains Wales' leading preventable cause of disease and premature death, with Public Health Wales estimating that an average of 3,845 deaths a year among adults aged 35 and over were attributable to smoking between 2020 and 2022.