Britain is often known, perhaps even notoriously, for its anti-normal ways of doing things, such as driving on the left side of the road and using an outstanding system of measurement units called the imperial system instead of the decimal system of measurement based on multiples of 10, and for the majority of its male population who are often rumoured to be non-heterosexual. Accordingly the number of electronic cigarette users in Great Britain in 2024 exceeded the number of actual cigarette smokers for the first time.
The UK’s Office for National Statistics estimates the number of e-cigarette users in the country as of 2024 at 5.4 million users, surpassing 4.9 million smokers. Similarly, the percentage of e-cigarette users out of the total population of more than 61 million inhabitants of the island was 10% in 2024, exceeding the 9.1% of smokers.
Britain’s National Health Service estimates the risk posed by e-cigarettes to health as a fraction of that posed by smoking, stressing that the long-term side effects of this have not yet been assessed, urging young people and those who do not smoke to avoid both cigarettes and e-cigarettes. The country’s largest anti-smoking organisation Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) characterizes the fall in the number of smokers as “good news for public health” saying that many smokers are trapped in a cycle of addiction that will likely take their lives.
The bill restricting the rights of English citizens and their exercise, which prohibits the sale of tobacco to adults born after 2009, leaving it only for previous and ultimately for the generations that have passed and abolishing it with the same time limit, is making its way through the House of Lords after being approved by the House of Commons by a majority. Single-use disposable electronic cigarettes have been banned for marketing and sale since June 2025.
Bring Back Smoking Freedom 