The survey of secondary school pupils in England in years 7 to 11
(mostly aged 11 to 15) found that 16% of pupils had ever smoked
cigarettes (down from 19% in 2016, and 49% in 1996).
View the full report.
Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health
(ASH) said,
“It’s excellent news that only one in six children aged 11-15
have ever tried smoking, a significant decline compared to 1996
when it was just under half. Furthermore, in line with the
ASH survey data for 2019, the proportion trying e-cigarettes has
not increased and vaping remains largely concentrated among those
who are already smokers. This provides reassurance that our
regulations are working and vaping has not become the
“super-cool” phenomenon among young people in England that it is
said to be in the USA.”
E-cigarette prevalence, by year:
25% (confidence interval 23-26%) of pupils reported they had
ever used e-cigarettes, the same as in 2016.
Current and regular e-cigarette prevalence have remained at
6% and 2% respectively.
Current e-cigarette use increased with age; from less than
1% of 11 year olds, to 11% of 15 year olds.
E-cigarette prevalence, by cigarette smoking
status:
Pupils who had ever smoked were much more likely to also have
ever used an e-cigarette, than those who had never smoked.
Most regular smokers (92%) reported having ever used
e-cigarettes. This compares to just 14% of pupils who had
never smoked.
Regular smokers are more likely to be
regular e-cigarette users; 29% in 2018. This falls to 9% for
ex-smokers, 4% for pupils who had tried smoking once, and less
than 1% of pupils who had never smoked.
ENDS
