The causes and consequences of the rise in disposable vaping

Until recently, disposable e-cigarettes were considered of historic interest, made obsolete by rechargeable devices with better nicotine delivery. For instance, just 1 in 20 British vapers chose disposable e-cigarettes as their main device from 2016 to 2020. Yet over the past two years, we have witnessed the market become flooded with new disposable e-cigarettes that are cheap, convenient, and good at delivering nicotine. There is mounting concern that these modern disposable devices may be especially appealing to children and younger adults. Recent data from Great Britain show that the popularity of disposable e-cigarettes grew rapidly between 2021 and 2022, particularly among young people. Now more than half of 18-year-old vapers mainly use disposable products. The public health impact of this growth will depend on who uses disposable e-cigarettes: people who would otherwise smoke cigarettes, vape other types of e-cigarettes, or avoid nicotine entirely. Harry will examine the causes and consequences of this rise in disposable vaping, in the context of the changing prevalence of vaping and cigarette smoking.