Secondary school vaping in Wales falls after disposable ban 2026

Key Points

• Secondary school students in Wales who use vape regularly have dropped from 7% to 5.2%. This marks the first time regular vaping has decreased since 2019.
• This decrease translates to about 3,200 fewer individuals vaping on a weekly basis compared to the 2023 data.
• Weekly vaping for Year 11 has been reduced from 15.9% in 2023 to 12.8% in 2025. Decreases have also been observed across all year groups and genders.
• More girls continue to vape regularly than boys (6.6% and 3.7% respectively). However, both groups have shown reductions from 2023 numbers.
• This decrease comes in line with the ban on disposable vape devices that came into effect in June 2025.
• Smoking has also continued to decrease to 1.8% in 2025, which means that 1,600 fewer regular young smokers compared to the 2023 number.
• According to Public Health Wales, it will be premature to attribute the decline to the disposable vape ban. However, the trends are in agreement with other available evidence.
• More restrictions on vape flavours, packaging, and displays have come into force through the Tobacco and Vapes Act.

Wales (Wales Times) September 29, 2026 – Regular vaping among secondary school pupils in Wales has fallen for the first time since 2019, according to new data from the Schools Health Research Network (SHRN) Student Health and Well-being Survey, with public health officials welcoming the decline while cautioning that the impact of recent policy changes is still being evaluated.

What do the latest Wales youth vaping figures show?

The SHRN survey, completed every two years by more than 130,000 learners in years 7 to 11 across mainstream secondary schools in Wales, found that 5.2% of pupils reported vaping at least once a week in 2025, down from 7% in 2023. This is the first recorded fall in regular youth vaping since 2019 and brings the rate back to a level comparable with 2021, when it stood at 5.5%.

Public Health Wales (PHW) said the decline represents a reduction of around 3,200 young people who are vaping regularly compared with the 2023 survey. Among year 11 pupils specifically, the proportion vaping at least weekly fell from 15.9% in 2023 to 12.8% in 2025.

As reported by staff at Nation.Cymru, falls were recorded across every year group and among both males and females, although historical patterns remain, with girls in years 7 to 11 more likely (6.6%) to report regular vaping than boys (3.7%). In 2023, those figures were 8.6% for girls and 5.1% for boys.

How has vaping changed by age and gender in Welsh schools?

The survey data show that regular vaping increases with age, consistent with previous years. In year 7, the proportion of pupils reporting weekly vaping fell from 0.8% in 2023 to 0.6% in 2025.

Mary-Ann McKibben, Consultant in Public Health for Public Health Wales, said in a statement cited by the Daily Post:

“In analysing the data from the SHRN report, we can identify that overall nicotine use is now falling among children and young people following an ongoing upward trend driven by vaping.”

She added:

“While there are likely to be a number of factors influencing this change in behaviour, including public health work with schools to address vaping and smoking and wider public awareness of the harms associated with vaping, the introduction of the disposable vapes ban in June 2025 to address youth vaping may have played a part.”

What role did the disposable vape ban and new laws play?

The latest survey covers a period that included increasing public and policy focus on youth vaping, including the introduction of a ban on single-use disposable vapes in June 2025. Public Health Wales said evidence on the impact of the ban is still emerging and it is not yet possible to determine the extent to which it contributed to the changes seen in the survey.

However, PHW noted that the fall in vaping among this age group is consistent with evidence from other sources that vaping rates fell after the announcement of the ban on disposable vapes.

Further restrictions on vape flavours, packaging, display and marketing aimed at reducing the appeal of vaping to children and young people have since become law under the Tobacco and Vapes Act, although the legislation was passed after the survey was completed. Public Health Wales said the high-profile public discussion surrounding this legislation may also have influenced attitudes and behaviours.

Are smoking rates also falling among Welsh pupils?

Alongside the drop in vaping, rates of smoking among secondary school-aged pupils continued to decline. While smoking rates have been low in recent years and pupils have been much more likely to report vaping than smoking, 2.7% of learners said they were smoking at least weekly in 2023, down from 3.1% in 2021.

In the 2025 data, weekly smoking fell to 1.8%, representing a substantial drop since 2023 and around 1,600 fewer young people smoking regularly compared with 2023, according to Public Health Wales.

What do public health officials say about the trend?

Mary-Ann McKibben said:

“The evidence is clear: while vaping is less dangerous than smoking overall, it is not risk-free and no children or young people should be vaping.”

She added:

“So after a number of years of rising levels of vape use by children and young people, this fall in the levels of vaping and smoking is extremely welcome.”

Public Health Wales said it will continue to monitor young people’s use of nicotine products, using the SHRN survey and other data sources, to try to identify whether this is a one-off “blip” or indicative of an ongoing downward trend.

Background to the decline in youth vaping in Wales

Youth vaping in Wales rose steadily from 2019 to 2023, prompting growing concern among public health officials, schools and policymakers. The 2023 SHRN survey found 7% of learners in years 7 to 11 vaped at least weekly, with year 11 pupils the most likely group at 15.9%.

In response, the UK and Welsh governments introduced a ban on the sale and supply of single-use disposable vapes, which came into force in June 2025 across Wales, England and Scotland. The measure was intended to reduce the availability of cheap, highly marketed devices that were seen as particularly appealing to children and young people.

The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026, described by the UK Government as “the biggest public health intervention in a generation”, introduced further powers to restrict vape flavours, packaging, display and marketing aimed at young people. The legislation passed after the 2025 SHRN survey was completed, but public debate around the measures began earlier and may have influenced behaviour during the survey period.

Public Health Wales had previously issued an incident report on vaping among children and young people, drawing on health protection approaches to manage what was perceived as an urgent issue among stakeholders. The report recommended, among other measures, a ban on disposable devices and stronger controls on sales to under-18s.

Predictions: how could this development affect young people and schools in Wales?

If the decline in youth vaping proves sustained, young people in Wales may face lower exposure to nicotine addiction during adolescence, potentially reducing long-term health risks and easing pressure on school behaviour and safeguarding systems. Schools and public health teams may be able to shift some resources from crisis response to prevention and education, building on the momentum created by the disposable vape ban and wider policy changes.

However, Public Health Wales has cautioned that it is not yet clear whether the 2025 fall is a temporary fluctuation or the start of a longer-term downward trend. If vaping rates stabilise or rise again, particularly as new products and marketing strategies emerge, schools and health services could face renewed challenges in managing nicotine use among pupils.

The continued implementation of the Tobacco and Vapes Act restrictions on flavours, packaging and display could further reduce the appeal of vapes to children and young people, but their effect will depend on enforcement and how the market adapts. For now, the data suggest a meaningful, if early, shift in behaviour that, if maintained, could mark a turning point in youth nicotine use in Wales.