The Government has issued its latest statistics on smoking habits, showing figures for those who smoke, vape and more.
The new data provides a revealing insight from two major research studies that sought data from the UK and also Great Britain specifically, which have been assessed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The figures show around 4.9m people aged 18 years and over (or 9.8% of the population) smoked cigarettes in the UK in 2025.
This is a decrease from 2024’s figure of 10.6%, which follows a long-term downward trend. The proportion of current smokers has also fallen by 10.4% since this data time series began in 2011 (20.2%), based on government estimates from the Annual Population Survey (APS).
The data also suggests the younger generation are smoking cigarettes in lower numbers, with those aged 18 to 24 years having the largest reduction in smoking prevalence among all age groups (18.5%) between 2011 (25.7%) and 2025 (7.2%).
However, those aged 45 to 54 years were the highest proportion of current smokers, at 12.4%.
Ecigs and vaping
Specifically In Great Britain, around 5.4m adults aged 16 years and over (9.9%) said they used an e-cigarette daily or occasionally in 2025, based on the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN).
While the number and percentage of adults using e-cigarettes has remained similar to 2024 (5.4m and 10%), overall, there has been an upward trend in the proportion of e-cigarette users since 2020 (6.4%).
2.9% of those who had never smoked reported using an e-cigarette daily or occasionally.
Of particular significance is the news that around 2.9% (1.1m) of those who had never smoked reported using an e-cigarette daily or occasionally - up from 2.7% (around 940,000) in 2024.
In 2025, the percentage of current e-cigarette users continued to be higher than current smokers according to the OPN (9.9% and 8.7% respectively). This equates to around 5.4m current e-cigarette users and 4.8m current smokers.
This is a continuation of the trend seen in 2024, when e-cigarette use overtook cigarette smoking for the first time.
Representing the opposite trend to smoking’s figures, e-cigarette use was highest among younger users - people aged 25 to 34 years in Great Britain - with 16.4% using e-cigarettes daily or occasionally.
To explain the research, the APS gives headline indicators of the number of adults aged 18 years and over who smoke in the UK.
Meanwhile, the OPN collects information on e-cigarette use among those aged 16 years and over in Great Britain (which excludes Northern Ireland), as well as smoking habits and the intention to quit smoking.
Regional change
In terms of a regional breakdown, although Fenland, Blackpool and Kingston upon Hull had the highest prevalence of current smokers, prevalence did still fall in these areas between 2019 to 2023 and 2021 to 2025, decreasing by 2.2% points in Fenland (from 20.9%), 1.7% in Blackpool (from 20.2%) and 0.7% in Kingston upon Hull (from 19.2%).
The local authorities with the lowest prevalence of current smokers in the five-year period 2021 to 2025 were Epsom and Ewell with 4.3%, and Woking with 4.5%.
In terms of gender, men were more likely to smoke than women in the UK in 2025, as seen in previous years. Around 2.8m men (11.3%) and around 2.1m women (8.2%) reported being current smokers.
UKVIA response
In response to the new figures, John Dunne, director general of the UK Vaping Industry Association, said: “The latest ONS figures show just how far Britain has come in tackling smoking, with rates once again at a record low and vaping playing an undeniable role in driving that progress – which makes the Government’s current approach to vaping all the more baffling.
“At the same time as vaping is helping millions of adults move away from or stay off cigarettes, a growing list of policies and proposals risk making vapes harder to choose and less accessible for the very people who rely on them. Not least the new Vaping Products Duty, which came into force this month and will see the cost of vaping products increase by as much as 264%.
“Our survey of almost 3,500 adult vapers showed 50% feared the duty could send them back to smoking or the black market, while analysis from the Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates it could see 946,000 vapers and dual users switch exclusively to smoking and create £306.6m in additional healthcare and productivity costs.
“No young person or ‘never-smoker’ should be using vaping products…”
“No young person or ‘never-smoker’ should be using vaping products, and the industry backs meaningful action against illegal sellers, but that should not come at the expense of adult smokers, vapers and the legitimate sector supporting their smokefree journeys.
“This should be a moment to celebrate Britain’s progress on smoking. Instead, we’re having to fight to protect one of the tools that’s been instrumental in helping make that progress possible.”
The UKVIA has recently called for a ‘fair deal’ for vaping in a new campaign.
The new Government data can be read in full here.
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