Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41354055›Full record

ArticleAddiction (Abingdon, England)2026

The changing face of nicotine use in England: Age-specific annual trends, 2014 to 2024.

Sarah E Jackson, Lion Shahab, Vera Buss, Harry Tattan-Birch, Sharon Cox, Eve Taylor, Jamie Brown

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. The Short Nicotine Dependence Index: A Simple and Versatile Self-Report Measure of Nicotine Dependence for General Populations.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Sarah E JacksonDepartment of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5658-6168
Lion ShahabDepartment of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4033-442X
Vera BussDepartment of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.
Harry Tattan-BirchDepartment of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.
Sharon CoxDepartment of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8494-5105
Eve TaylorDepartment of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.
Jamie BrownDepartment of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2797-5428

Funding

Cancer Research UK PRCRPG-Nov21\100002
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsTo examine age-specific trends in patterns of nicotine use in England between 2014 and 2024, including types of products used, exclusive and dual use of smoking and vaping, smoking frequency and the smoking history of those who vape.

designRepeat monthly cross-sectional analysis of data from a nationally representative survey (the Smoking Toolkit Study).

settingEngland, 2014-2024.

participants217 433 adults (≥18y). MEASUREMENTS: Prevalence of (non-medicinal) nicotine use overall and by product type (combustible tobacco, e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches), exclusive and dual use of smoking and vaping, daily versus non-daily smoking and smoking history among those who vape. Estimates were stratified by age group (18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, ≥65y) and year. Prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to quantify relative changes in prevalence from 2014 to 2024.

findingsNicotine use patterns varied markedly by age. Among 18-24-year-olds, vaping prevalence increased fivefold, from 5.0% in 2014 to 25.0% in 2024 (PR = 5.00; 95% CI = 4.18-5.91), surpassing smoking by 2023. This contributed to an overall increase in nicotine use (26.1% to 36.5%; PR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.29-1.53), despite declining smoking rates (25.3% to 19.9%; PR = 0.79; 95% CI = 0.71-0.88). In this age group, exclusive vaping became the most common mode of nicotine use, while nicotine pouch use also increased. Daily smoking declined substantially among 18-24-year-olds who smoked, with a shift toward non-daily smoking. Similar trends were observed among adults aged 25-44, though changes were smaller with increasing age. In older age groups (≥45), daily smoking declined modestly while vaping rose gradually, but there was little overall change in the prevalence of nicotine use. Most adults who vaped had a history of smoking, but the proportion who had never regularly smoked increased, particularly among 18-24-year-olds (4.3% to 34.3%; PR = 7.98; 95% CI = 4.56-26.2).

conclusionsGenerational shifts in nicotine use are occurring in England. Nicotine use has risen among young adults over the past decade, but they are increasingly moving away from daily cigarette smoking towards vaping or non-daily smoking. While older adults have also shown movement away from daily smoking, traditional smoking patterns remain more prevalent in this group. These trends suggest vaping may gradually replace smoking as the dominant form of nicotine consumption.

Indexed as

SmokingVapingAdolescentAdultAgedAge FactorsCross-Sectional StudiesElectronic Nicotine Delivery SystemsEnglandFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrevalenceTobacco ProductsYoung Adultcigarettese‐cigarettesheated tobacconicotine pouchessmokingtobaccovaping

Identifiers

PMID41354055
PMCPMC12887924

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.