Major study reveals benefits of sector
THE UK’s fast-growing vaping sector is a multi-billion-pound industry supporting nearly 18,000 full-time equivalent workers and raking in hundreds of millions for the taxman.
And the cost savings to the NHS of adult smokers switching to vaping is about £330m a year – a figure it’s thought would more than double if 50% of UK smokers switched to vaping.
Those are key findings of the first-ever study measuring the impact vaping has on the UK’s economy – carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
Turnover within the UK vape sector grew by 23.4% from 2017 to 2021, an increase of £251m, and stood at £1.325bn last year.
When indirect economic benefits such as supply chain support and the spending power of vape sector workers are factored in, the impact more than doubles to £2.8bn.
The number of people directly and indirectly employed in the vape sector was 17,700 in 2021, while the exchequer gained £310m in taxes during 2021.
And the gain in “economic productivity” associated with smokers switching to using vaping products was estimated to be some £1.3bn in 2019.
UK Vaping Industry Association chief John Dunne said: “By all measures, this is a true British success story – creating employment and wealth, as well as generating precious taxation while saving the NHS more than £300m a year through people switching from smoking to vaping.”
