Changes in expenditure on vaping in the context of the rise of disposable vapes and impending regulatory changes: a population study in Great Britain, 2021-2025

Background: The vaping market in Great Britain has shifted rapidly since 2021, driven by the rise of disposable vapes, regulatory announcements, changing consumer behaviours, and market responses. Aim: To examine changes in the amount people who vape spend on vaping products between 2021 and 2025, overall and within key population subgroups. Design: Monthly representative cross-sectional survey. Setting: Great Britain. Participants: 4,072 people aged 16+ years surveyed between January 2021 and April 2025 who reported current vaping and provided data on expenditure. Main outcome measures: The outcome was self-reported weekly expenditure on vaping products (in British pounds), adjusted for inflation. Monthly time trends in expenditure were modelled using linear regression, overall and by main device type (disposable/reusable), age, occupational social grade (ABC1=more advantaged/C2DE=less advantaged), smoking status (current/former/never), and (among current cigarette smokers) smoking frequency (daily/non-daily). For context, we also modelled changes in the proportion who reported mainly/exclusive using disposable vapes. Results: Overall, average weekly inflation-adjusted expenditure on vaping products increased from GBP6.13 (95%CI=5.66-6.63) to 8.39 (7.79-9.05) - a relative change of +37.0% - with increases in expenditure occurring predominantly among those using disposable vapes (+42.6%). The trend was, however, non-linear. Expenditure first increased steadily between January 2021 and December 2022, peaking at GBP9.12 (8.70-9.57) in September 2023, and declined slightly thereafter. This trend mirrored changes in disposable vape use, which rose from 1.0% (0.5-2.0%) in January 2021 to a peak of 39.8% (36.8-42.8%) in April 2023, then fell to 29.7% (24.8-35.1%) by April 2025. The increases and then declines in expenditure were most pronounced among subgroups whose use of disposables increased and then declined the most. For example, expenditure in those who were aged 16 increased by 143.5% to June 2023 followed by a 30.9% decline by April 2025. Conclusions: From 2021 to 2023, inflation-adjusted overall expenditure on vaping products increased substantially among people who vape in Great Britain, particularly during the rapid rise of disposable vaping. Between 2023 to 2025, overall expenditure declined slightly with large declines in subgroups with the greatest switching away from disposable vapes, particularly young people. An impending ban on disposables in Britain in 2025, which was announced in 2023, may have been responsible for people switching away from disposables, and unintentionally resulted in vaping becoming more affordable among subgroups, such as young people, who predominantly started vaping with disposables.