One Million Lives
1 million vapers could to turn back to cigarettes following the government's disposable vape ban according to new data revealed by leading ecig retailer Vape Club
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by Dave Cross
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One million vapers in the UK could return to smoking cigarettes or tobacco products following the government’s ban on disposable vapes. This figure represents 18.45% of the UK’s 5.6 million vapers, who say they are likely to switch to cigarettes as a result of the ban. The response was higher among men, with 1 in 5 (21.8%) reporting they will switch back to smoking, compared to 15.31% of women, according to leading ecig retailer Vape Club.
The age group most at risk of returning to tobacco products are 25–34-year-olds, where over a quarter (28.6%) said they would start smoking again after disposable vapes were banned. Vape Club believes this is particularly concerning, as a recent ASH report found that the main reasons given by ex-smokers for vaping were to help them quit smoking entirely (28%) or to prevent relapse (21%).
These data come from a new survey of 2,000 vapers across the UK, obtained by Vape Club, in May 2025.
The findings also reveal that a significant proportion of UK vapers had already purchased suspected illegal products before the ban from local convenience stores (36%), followed closely by local vape shops (33%), and market stalls or street traders (26%), highlighting how easily these products are accessed through the minority of unscrupulous retail outlets.
The industry continues to call for the launch of the Vape Retailer and Distributor Licensing framework to effectively regulate the growing black market in the sector, noting that while the government is granting Trading Standards the power to issue £200 on-the-spot fines, experts say this measure does not go far enough.
Dan Marchant, Director at Vape Club, says: “The real issue of illicit vape sales lies in the inadequate enforcement of current regulations and penalties for those in violation of the law. With the disposable vape ban now in force, we risk a new generation of illegal and potentially dangerous vaping products in the UK, all because the core of the issue has not been addressed. This boils down to lacklustre fines and little structure to provide Trading Standards with adequate funding or resources to deal with the unscrupulous retailers.
“A licensing framework would ringfence funds for local Trading Standards to do their work effectively. A conservative estimate of the figures is that it will provide £ 50 million annually, and most importantly, at no cost to the taxpayer. The proposal also allows them to hand out higher fines to act as a genuine deterrent, which unfortunately, we don’t currently have.
“The best deterrent for any crime is the likelihood of being caught, and right now, that is incredibly low, and rogue retailers are taking full advantage of this. We have to create an environment where there is much more chance of being caught.”
References:
- Vape Club - https://www.vapeclub.co.uk/
- Use of vapes (e-cigarettes) among adults in Great Britain - https://ash.org.uk/uploads/Use-of-vapes-among-adults-in-Great-Britain-2024.pdf
Photo Credit:
Photo by Danny Howe on Unsplash, resized and cropped
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
