Looking at the Eurobarometer 2017 Findings by Country in More Detail

There are limitations with all surveys on vaping, but one of the most extensive datasets is from Eurobarometer 458. The European Commission used this public opinion gathering resource to conduct an extensive survey of e-cigarette use across the EU as part of a wider review of smoking habits. The key findings were that across the 28 countries of the EU in 2017:

• Around 15 percent of those aged 15 or over had tried an e-cigarette at least once – compared to 12 percent in 2014;
• Two percent of the population are current users and this has remained stable since 2014;
• Almost one in twenty current smokers now currently use e-cigarettes or similar devices (four percent), and four percent of ex-smokers;
• Current use of e-cigarettes among people who have never smoked is rare. At most, one percent of e-cigarette users in any EU country are people who have never smoked.

Looking at the Eurobarometer 2017 findings in more detail:

• The UK (5%), France (4%) and Belgium (4%) have the highest vaping prevalence across the 28 E.U. member states in 2017.
• France (9%) and Austria (6%) have the highest proportion of respondents who have previously used e-cigarettes but no longer do so.
• Latvia (20%) has the highest proportion of respondents who had tried e-cigarettes at least once or twice, followed by the Czech Republic (16%) and Estonia (15%).
• France and Belgium have the highest proportion of current smokers who also currently use e-cigarettes (8%), followed by Austria, Denmark and Lithuania (7%).
• The UK has by far the highest proportion of ex-smokers who say they are current users of e-cigarettes (14%) followed by Ireland (7%) then Belgium and France (6%).
• Younger people are more likely to have tried e-cigarettes: 25% of 15-24 year olds have tried e-cigarettes, compared with 6% of those aged 55 plus.
• Those who have tried to quit smoking are more likely to say they are current users of e-cigarettes (47%) than those who have not (27%). This statistic is relevant to the whole EU 28.
• The majority of e-cigarette users use them daily (67%). Older users and men are more likely to be daily users. This statistic is relevant to the whole EU 28.
• 55% of EU respondents think e-cigarettes are harmful. This proportion is 80% or above in the Netherlands, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania.

See also p. 41 of the report: No Fire, No Smoke: The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction 2018 — Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (gsthr.org)