Trends in Where People Buy Their Vaping Products and Differences by User and Device Characteristics: A Population Study in England, 2016-23

Aims: To explore where people in England typically buy e-cigarettes/vaping products, how their characteristics and the types of products purchased differ according to the source of purchase and whether this is changing over time.

Design: This was a nationally representative monthly cross-sectional survey.

Setting: The study was conducted in England, 2016-23.

Participants: A total of 6507 adults (≥ 18 years) who reported current vaping.

Measurements: Participants were asked where they usually buy their vaping products: vape shops, supermarkets/convenience stores, on-line or other sources ('other' or cheap from friends).

Findings: Up to 2020, vape shops were the most common source of purchase (mean monthly proportion = 43.3%), followed by supermarkets/convenience stores (29.7%) and on-line retailers (20.5%). In 2020, these purchasing patterns shifted: on-line purchasing increased and vape-shop purchasing fell. The rise in on-line purchasing was short-lived, peaking at 33.6% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 31.0-36.5%] in July 2021, and soon returned to baseline levels. However, the fall in vape-shop purchasing persisted, remaining below 31% from July 2021 onwards, displaced by a rapid rise in purchasing from supermarkets and convenience stores from 31.6% (95% CI = 29.6-33.7%) in January 2021 to 48.5% (95% CI = 42.9-54.8%) by April 2023. This rise was most pronounced among younger adults (aged 18-35 years; P < 0.001) and those mainly using disposable devices (P = 0.013). Purchasing from other sources was relatively rare, and declined from 9.1% (95% CI = 6.6-12.7%) in July 2016 to 4.3% (95% CI = 2.6-7.1%) in April 2023.

Conclusions: Supermarkets and convenience stores have recently overtaken vape shops to become the most popular places to buy vaping products in England. This change appears to have been driven by the rising popularity of new disposable e-cigarettes among younger adults, who tend to buy these products from supermarkets/convenience stores.