Rapid growth in disposable e-cigarette vaping among young adults in Great Britain from 2021 to 2022: a repeat cross-sectional survey

Aims To estimate recent trends in the prevalence of disposable e-cigarette vaping in Great Britain, overall and across ages. Design The Smoking Toolkit Study, a monthly representative cross-sectional survey. Setting: Great Britain. Participants 29,976 adults (≥18 years) completed telephone interviews from January 2021 to January 2022. Measurements Current e-cigarette vapers were asked which type of device they mainly use. We estimated age-specific time trends in the prevalence of current disposable e-cigarette use among vapers and inhaled nicotine use (vaping/smoking) among adults. Findings From January 2021 to January 2022, there was a 14-fold increase in the percentage of vapers that used disposables, rising from 1.2% to 16.7% (prevalence ratio [PR], 14.4; 95%CI, 6.6-49.0). Growth in disposable e-cigarette vaping was most pronounced in younger adults (interaction p-value, .0.007): for example, the percentage of 18-year-old vapers using of disposables rose from 0.89% to 56.7% (PR, 64; 95%CI, 15-5790) while it rose from 1.3% to 6.2% (PR, 4.7; 95%CI, 1.7-144) among 45-year-old vapers. However, the overall percentage people currently using any inhaled nicotine, vaped or smoked, remained stable over time both among all adults (20.1% vs. 20.6%; PR, 1.03; 95%CI, 0.88-1.20) and among 18-year-olds (29.6% vs. 29.6%; PR, 1.00; 95%CI, 0.79-1.26). Conclusions Use of disposable e-cigarettes in Great Britain grew rapidly between 2021 and 2022, especially among younger adults, but the overall prevalence of inhaled nicotine use — smoked or vaped — was stable over time. Most young adult vapers in Great Britain now use disposable products.