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One in five northerners reverts back to smoking following the disposable vape ban

The UK-wide ban came into force on 1 June 2025.

Emily Sergeant - 10th June 2025

A shocking new study has claimed that one in five vapers in the North West have reverted back to smoking following the disposable vape ban.

With the ban on single-use disposable vapes now in full force across the UK after taking effect from 1 June, one in five (16%) North West residents who used to vape have hinted that they’ll now go back to smoking cigarettes, according to some eye-opening new research by the life insurance experts at Confused.com.

While the study did reassuringly find that that more than a third (34%) of survey respondents planned to quit vaping after the ban, this doesn’t tell the full story.

Worryingly, more people than not say they plan to keep vaping, with 21% claiming the ban on disposables will actually encourage them to switch to refillable vapes instead, rather than give up all together.

One in five northerners plans to revert back to smoking following the disposable vape ban / Credit: Pxhere

According to Confused.com’s latest data, there has been a 44% increase in the number of people declaring they smoke or vape on their life insurance policy since 2019, but if these survey results are anything to go by, we can expect these figures to be higher in the years to come.

Almost a third of North West vapers (27%) said they started between the ages of 18-25.

Around one in 10 (4%) said they were under 18 when they started vaping, and then at the other end o the spectrum, a third (33%) apparently started at 41 or older.

The single-use vape ban came into force across the UK on 1 June 2025 / Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Despite the more concerning findings, Confused.com is choosing to look on the more positive side of things, with Tom Vaughan, who is one of the life insurance experts at Confused.com, commenting: “It’s refreshing to see that many people who vape are using the ban as a springboard to try to quit for good, particularly with the financial and health implications of maintaining the habit.

“We’ve had a significant increase in smokers’ policies for life insurance, which are extremely important for family security and future prospects.

“So when applying for life insurance, it’s important that smokers or vapers declare their habit, as it could impact policies due to the long-term health impact.”

Featured Image – Lil Artsy (via Pexels)