Multiple options were allowed, and fewer than one in ten (7.6%) gave the internet as a source. The most frequent source of vapes is shops (48%), closely followed by given (46%) and informal purchase (26%).This includes nearly half those who have tried vaping, so believing vaping is harmful does not appear to be putting children off trying vaping. For the first time this year, most children wrongly believe that vaping is about the same or more harmful than smoking.The proportion vaping ‘just to give it a try’ has gone down since last year, while saying they vape because others do has grown, while those saying ‘I like the flavours’ has remained the same.Around one in five ever and never smokers say ‘other people do it so I join in’ while 21% of ever smokers say they vape because they ‘like the flavours’ compared to 12% of never smokers. More than half of never smokers say they vape ‘just to give it a try’ compared to a quarter of those who have ever smoked.The figures for current use are 4.6% among those aged 11-15, 15% for 16-17 and 18% for 18-year-olds. Among 11-15 year olds 15% have ever tried vaping, compared to 34% of 16-17 year olds and 38% of 18 year olds. There is an age gradient both for ‘ever’ and ‘current’ vaping.Most (62%)of those who have never smoked but have vaped have only tried once or twice, while most (70%) current vapers have also tried smoking. However, eight out of ten children have never smoked, so this amounts to nearly half (48%) of children who have ever tried vaping. The proportion of never smokers who have tried vaping is 11.5%.Since 2021 the proportion of current vaping has been greater than that of current smoking (7.6% compared to 3.6% in 2023).The 50% growth in experimentation (trying once or twice) from 7.7% in 2022 to 11.6% in 2023 was significant, while the change in current vaping (from 6.9% to 7.6%) was not.The majority had only vaped once or twice (11.6%), while 7.6% were currently vaping (3.9% less than once a week, 3.6% more than once a week) and the remainder (1.3% in 2023) saying they no longer vape. In 2023 20.5% of children had tried vaping, up from 15.8% in 2022 and 13.9% in 2020 before the first COVID lockdown.It is an offence to sell e-cigarettes to children under 18 in the United Kingdom and children means those aged 11-17 years old, unless otherwise specified. Only one in five children now say they never see vapes promoted, down from 31% last year. Children’s awareness of promotion of vapes has also grown, particularly in shops where more than half of all children report seeing e-cigarettes being promoted, and online where nearly a third report e-cigarette promotion.

In March/April 2023 the proportion of children experimenting with vaping had grown by 50% year on year, from one in thirteen to one in nine.

Teen vaping infographic