Smoking has fallen to a record low while the number of people vaping stayed steady.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics show that fewer than one in 10 adults in the UK smoked in 2025, while vape use remained more common than smoking for the second year in a row.
Fewer than one in 10 (9.8%) of people aged 18 years and over smoked cigarettes in 2025, bringing the number of smokers to around 4.9 million. This is a decrease from 2024 (10.6%) and continues a long-term reduction. In 2011, one in five adults were smokers.
Those aged 45 to 54 were most likely to smoke (12.4%), with the lowest proportion among those aged 18 to 24 years and 65 years and over (7.2%).
The reduction in smoking has been greatest among 18 to 24-year-olds, falling from 25.7% in 2011 to 7.2% in 2025.
David Mais from the ONS said: “Fewer than one in 10 adults now smoke. This is the lowest proportion on record and continues the long-term decline in smoking. At the same time, e-cigarette use remains more common than smoking and has followed an overall upward trend since 2020.”
Hazel Cheeseman, CEO of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said: “This is really encouraging progress and shows what can be achieved through sustained action to reduce smoking.
“The government has delivered historic legislation to create a smoke-free generation, but it will take time for this to have its full effect. The last government set a target to reduce smoking to 5% by 2030. Despite the progress we are seeing, it is now unlikely that this ambition will be met.
“The government now needs to set a new, ambitious goal for reducing smoking, backed by a clear plan to support the 4.9 million people who still smoke to quit, in every community. Today’s data also shows that inequalities between areas persist, despite the progress made.
“Smoking has fallen enormously over recent decades, but it remains the biggest driver of preventable death in the UK. Now is the time to finish the job.”
While the number of vapers remained flat at 10%, the longer-term trend is an increase on the 6.4% who vaped in 2020. Vaping increased in just one age group in 2025 – 25 to 34-year-olds – from 12.9% in 2024 to 16.4% in 2025.
The data showed there were 5.4 million vapers, comprised of 2.9 million ex-smokers, 1.4 million current smokers, and 1.1 million who have never smoked a cigarette.
Mais added: “E-cigarette users are getting older, with those aged 25 to 34 now overtaking 16 to 24-year-olds as the age group most likely to use them. This may reflect existing users getting older, growing popularity among this age group, or a combination of both.”
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 that 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%.
“This should be a moment to celebrate Britain’s progress on smoking. Instead, we are having to fight to protect one of the tools that has been instrumental in helping make that progress possible.”
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