The report, titled Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England was published at the beginning of September, and contains results from a survey of secondary school pupils aged 11 to 15. The researchers asked questions about smoking, drinking and drug use, covering a range of topics such as attitudes towards these behaviours, habits and wellbeing.

The key findings of the survey revealed a decrease in cigarette smoking among pupils. Whereas 16% of pupils had tried a cigarette when asked in 2018, only 12% had ever smoked in 2021. 1% were regular smokers, compared to 2% in 2018.

However, the report found that vaping has increased - from 6% in 2018 to 9% last year. Around 21% (that’s 1 in 5) 15-year old girls were classified in the survey as current e-cigarette users.

The popularity of e-cigarettes has boomed in the last few years - and that could be a good thing. They’re far less harmful than cigarettes and can be used to help people quit smoking for good, allowing people to inhale nicotine in a vapour rather than a smoke - which means no tar or carbon monoxide, the two more damaging elements in tobacco smoke.

In the UK, e-cigarettes must be tightly regulated in order to ensure safety and quality - they aren’t completely risk free, but compared to the risk of cigarettes, they’re much safer to use, and there’s no evidence so far that vaping can cause harm to people around you. That’s a sharp contrast to secondhand smoke, which is known to be extremely harmful.

Deborah Arnott, the chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, responded to the NHS report:

“The NHS Digital survey shows the same concerning rise in underage vaping as ASH data published in July. Schools, parents and local authorities are looking for help and ASH has just published guidance on how to tackle youth vaping. But while further action on vaping is needed, it is still only a small minority of children vaping and it is encouraging to see that the NHS Digital survey finds youth smoking has continued to decline, as smoking is far more helpful than vaping.

The ASH’s own research found that although e-cigarette use has increased in 2022 compared to 2021,vaping among people who have never smoked remains low, and is mostly driven by a desire to experiment. 65.4% of children who haven’t smoked but have tried an e-cigarette reported that their main reason for using one was ‘just to give it a try’.

However, along the recent increase in use of disposable products like Elf Bar and Geek Bar, researchers are seeing higher levels of youth use, and so continued surveillance is needed.

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For advice on giving up smoking and vaping, pop into your local pharmacy and ask a member of the team for support and evidence-based guidance about the use of e-cigarettes.