Smoking prevalence, vaping laws, snus in England

In England the latest figure for the prevalence of current smokers is 14.9% (2017). This represents a decrease from 2011 when the prevalence overall was 19.8% (a drop of around 5%). For men’s prevalence decreased from 22.2% to 16.8% over the same period; for women the prevalence decreased from 17.6% to 13%. Smoking data for England are taken from the Annual Population Survey (APS), a continuous household survey that covers adults aged 18 years and above. The survey uses a large sample of around 320,000 households each year.

England is part of the UK and as such abides by the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) (2014). E-cigarettes may be brought to market either as medicines or as consumer products. One e-cigarette product has been licensed to be prescribed through the National Health Service as a medicine, and it is not currently available on the market. E-cigarettes sold as consumer products are regulated under the UK Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (SI 2016 no. 507). This covers all of the UK, however devolved nations may choose to apply greater restrictions. Manufacturers must provide detailed information regarding all new e-cigarette products to the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Advertising is allowed on billboards but not on TV and radio. Legally, there are no restrictions on where you can vape, but companies, public transport and public buildings implement their own restrictions. E-cigarettes are subject to a 20% Value Added Tax (VAT); however, if they are regulated as medicines, a 5% tax is levied instead. No 'medicinal' products are currently available.

There are no comments specific to snus in England in the database.

Article 19 of the EU Tobacco Products Directive, covering novel tobacco products, covers heated tobacco products. Regulations cover reporting, notifications and health warning labels. Heated tobacco products are notified to Public Health England (PHE) as the competent authority for tobacco products. So far notifications for only two products (iQOS and IFuse) have been made.

There are no comments specific to nicotine replacement therapy in England in the database.