New EU rules on nicotine strength not a problem for most vapers

16 May 2016
by ASH -- last modified 16 May 2016

Use of electronic cigarettes continues to rise with 2.8 million current e-cigarette users in 2016, up from only 700,000 in 2012 when it was first measured by ASH. And new EU rules on electronic cigarettes need not cause problems for most vapers according to new research published by ASH today.

Concerns raised in Parliament about the EU rules are not borne out by the ASH Smokefree GB Adult Survey. Only 9% of vapers report using e-liquid containing 19mg/ml or more of nicotine (the limit set by the EU Tobacco Products Directive is 20mg/ml).  And only 11% of daily vapers use more than 4ml of liquid (the EU limit for tanks and cartridges is 2ml), indicating that few of them are likely to need to refill their device more than twice a day.  The minority of vapers using higher strengths and higher volumes of e-liquid will continue to be able to buy these until 20th May 2017, leaving time for products to evolve to meet their needs.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH said:

"The new ASH research shows that most vapers use less nicotine than the limit set in the new EU regulations and are likely to have to refill their devices no more than a couple of times a day. Concerns that the EU regulations would force the products most vapers use off the market seem to have been overstated."

However, while over 60% of smokers say they've tried vaping, less than one in five are currently using e-cigarettes. And among smokers who have still never tried vaping the most common reason cited is concern that they are not safe enough. In 2016 47% of current vapers think vaping is a lot less harmful than smoking regular cigarettes, compared to only 12% of smokers who've never tried vaping. Misperceptions about the relative risk of vaping and smoking are growing, not declining. In March 2016 only 15% of adults thought e-cigarettes were a lot less harmful than smoking regular cigarettes, down from 21% in 2013.  In contrast the proportion of adults thinking e-cigarettes were equally or more harmful than cigarettes had risen from 7% in 2013 to 25% in 2016.

Deborah Arnott went on to say:

"Any smoker who has been put off vaping by concerns about safety should be re-assured that the new EU regulations will help improve the quality and reliability of electronic cigarettes. Smokers need to understand that if they can't quit altogether, by switching to vaping they can improve both their quality and length of life."

The recently published Royal College of Physicians (RCP) report on electronic cigarettes  supported the EU Tobacco Products Directive requirement to report nicotine delivery and toxins in e-cigarette vapour. The RCP recommended monitoring the impact of the Directive to check whether measures such as the 20mg/ml limit on nicotine concentration cause problems for vapers and that regulations should be revised if any problems arise.

There has been no increase in regular vaping amongst never smokers since 2013 with only 0.2% of never smokers saying they're vaping. 

 Nearly half of all vapers are now ex-smokers while two years ago the proportion was only a third, with two thirds continuing to smoke. This is important because only by switching completely do vapers significantly reduce their risks of developing smoking-related diseases. Nearly two thirds of ex-smokers who use e-cigarettes have been vaping for over a year, while more than half of current smokers who also use e-cigarettes (known as 'dual users') have been doing so for less than a year.   

The main reason given by ex-smokers who are currently vaping is to help them stop smoking, while for current smokers the main reason is to reduce the amount they smoke, although smokers also say they vape to help them quit smoking. Saving money is now one of the top three reasons vapers give for using e-cigarettes.

Dr Leonie Brose, Lecturer in Addictions at King's College London said:

"This survey provides further confirmation that regular use of electronic cigarettes is almost without exception confined to smokers and ex-smokers. It is encouraging that among those who have never smoked, we continue to see very little experimentation and no change in the extremely low levels of current use. The proportion of never smokers who vape is the same as those who use nicotine replacement therapy."

Action on Smoking and Health is a health charity working to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco use.

Action on Smoking and Health