Smoke-free is progress. Nicotine-free is freedom.

More than a million people in the UK who have never smoked are now vaping.

That's the headline from the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, the UK government's official statistics agency, reported by the BBC this week. For the second year running, more people in Great Britain vape (5.4 million) than smoke, and smoking across the UK has fallen to 4.9 million people.

Fewer people smoking is good news. Smoking is still the biggest cause of preventable death in the UK.

The addiction changed shape

After more than 20 years helping people stop smoking and vaping, this result is exactly what we expected. Promoting vapes as the way out of smoking was a public policy decision, and at Allen Carr's Easyway we said repeatedly that it was a mistake.

When you treat nicotine addiction with nicotine, the addiction stays. It just changes shape. The device gets smaller, the flavor gets sweeter, and now it's reaching people who never smoked at all.

Every vaper I meet made a sensible choice with the information they were given. Many picked up a vape because they wanted to be free of cigarettes. That wish for freedom is exactly the right instinct.

Closer to home

In 2024, 11% of Canadian adults reported smoking. Health Canada credits the legal vaping market with helping many adults switch away from cigarettes, while noting that vapes are not an approved cessation therapy. Around 21% of Canadians who quit smoking in 2024 said they used an e-cigarette to help them stop.

Health Canada's own evaluation also shows the other side. Vaping among young adults aged 18 to 24 rose from 13.3% in 2020 to 19.4% in 2023.

Switching from cigarettes to vapes removes the smoke and keeps the nicotine. The Canadians who made that switch deserve a way out that leaves nicotine behind completely.

Why the desire goes

In seminar rooms, I've seen the same thing again and again. People keep using nicotine because they believe it gives them something: calm, focus, a break, a reward. Once someone sees that nicotine only relieves the restlessness it created in the first place, the desire goes. There's no substitute to find and nothing to cut down.

That's the heart of Allen Carr's Easyway. We question the beliefs that keep people hooked, so stopping feels like a release rather than a sacrifice. Every facilitator was once a smoker or vaper who found freedom with the method, so you're talking with someone who has been exactly where you are.

My own turning point

That was my experience in 2003. Before then, I'd never lasted more than about a day and a half. What changed was understanding the trap I was in. Once I saw it clearly, I simply didn't want nicotine anymore. More than 20 years on, that feeling of freedom is still with me every day.

The next step

Half of the UK's smokers say they want to stop, and the UK's new law is building a smoke-free generation. Policy can change direction, and the next step, here and everywhere, is freedom from nicotine itself.

Smoke-free is progress. Nicotine-free is freedom.

If you smoke or vape and you're curious about life on the other side, explore our Live Online seminars and find the one that suits you. Whenever you're ready, we're here.

Sources: BBC: One million UK people who have never smoked are now vaping · Health Canada: Delivering Results, Advancing Canada's Tobacco Strategy · Health Canada: Evaluation of Tobacco and Vaping Activities 2021-22 to 2024-25