E-cigarette use among never-smokers negligible, says anti-smoking body

Electronic cigarette use among people who have never smoked remains negligible in Great   Britain, according to an ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) fact sheet.

Only 1.1 percent of “never-smokers” have ever tried e-cigarettes and almost none of those who have tried these products continue to use them.

Among former smokers, 11.8 percent have tried e-cigarettes but only 4.7 percent use them on a regular basis.

ASH has commissioned a series of surveys on e-cigarette use, starting in 2010 with a survey of adult smokers that was repeated in February 2012, February 2013 and March 2014. In March 2013, an additional survey of young people aged 11 to 18 was conducted.

Using its own and government data, ASH estimates that whereas in 2010 only 8.2 percent of current smokers had ever tried e-cigarettes, by 2014, that figure had risen to 51.7 percent.

Between 2010 and 2014, also, there was a gradual but consistent rise in the number of current smokers who used e-cigarettes on a regular basis: 2.7 percent to 17.7 percent.

There are currently 2.1 million e-cigarette users in Great Britain, of whom about 700,000 are ex-smokers and 1.3 million continue to use tobacco alongside e-cigarettes.

The ASH fact sheet is at http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_891.pdf.