A study published in a JAMA Network journal put the number of adults in the United States who vape at as many as 5.66 million. The estimate came from the Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population survey, carried out in 2018/2019 and considered among the largest surveys of tobacco and nicotine use by American adults. Here is what the researchers reported, along with some context on the market and its regulation.
What the survey found
As many as 135,211 adults took part. Of those, 16,570 were listed as current smokers (11.4 percent), 29,189 as former smokers (18.2 percent), and 70.3 percent as people who had never smoked.
The 5.66 million figure works out to only 2.3 percent of the population. The researchers broke the vaping group down by smoking history:
- Current cigarette smokers: 2.21 million
- Former smokers: 2.14 million
- Never smoked: 1.30 million
Who vapes
Men were more likely to vape than women, according to the study. Education made a difference as well, with vaping more common at higher levels of schooling. The share was 2.2 percent among people who had not finished high school, 3 percent among those holding a high school degree, and 3.1 percent among college graduates.
The size of the market
Vaping had grown steadily in the U.S. over the preceding years even as regulation tightened. The country was the largest market for vaping products, ahead of the UK and France. Expert Market Research, a firm based in Wyoming, valued the U.S. e-cigarette market at 12.8 billion dollars and projected it would reach 48.9 billion dollars by 2025.
Regulation and what came next
Authorities had been watching the American vaping industry closely as worry about teen vaping rose sharply. In the same year the study appeared, the government announced a plan to ban flavored e-liquids, and makers of vaping products became subject to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements.
The industry was expected to survive but to look different afterward. Some companies were already renaming products and redesigning packaging on a small scale, more rebranding was anticipated, and there was a standing possibility that certain brands would disappear altogether.