Global E-cigarette Users Exceed 80 Million in 2021, Up 20%

Global E-cigarette Users

On April 17th, the UK’s public health agency Knowledge Action Change (KAC) released the latest research from the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR) project, showing that the number of e-cigarette users worldwide exceeded 80 million. From 2020 to 2021, the number of e-cigarette users increased by nearly 20%.

According to the latest research from the GSTHR project published by the UK’s public health agency Knowledge Action Change (KAC), the number of e-cigarette users worldwide has significantly increased.

On April 17th, a new peer-reviewed article published in the journal “Drugs, Habits, and Social Policies” estimated that there were 82 million e-cigarette users globally in 2021. The number of e-cigarette users in 2021 was 20% higher than in 2020.

Key conclusions of the paper include:

  1. Number of E-cigarette Users

In 2021, there were 82 million e-cigarette users worldwide: 9.2 million in the Eastern Mediterranean region; 5.6 million in Africa; 20.1 million in Europe; 16.8 million in the Americas; 16 million in the Western Pacific; and 14.3 million in Southeast Asia.

Global E-cigarette Users
  1. Growth in User Numbers

From 2018 to 2021, the number of e-cigarette users increased by nearly 30%. From 2020 to 2021, the number of e-cigarette users increased by nearly 20%.

  1. Global Smoking Numbers

In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that there were nearly 1 billion (984 million) smokers worldwide, accounting for about one-fifth of the adult population.

Approximately 80% of smokers live in low- and middle-income countries, with 46% living in three countries: China, India, and Indonesia.

  1. E-cigarette Market Sales Size

E-cigarette sales market value data for 2021 in various regions:

  • United States market size: $10.3 billion, the largest market
  • Canadian market size: $1.4 billion
  • Western Europe market size: $6.6 billion
  • Asia-Pacific market size: $4.4 billion
  • Eastern Europe market size: $1.6 billion
  • Middle East and Africa market size: $490 million
  • Latin America market size: $122 million
  • Australia market size: $118 million

Market size growth from 2015 to 2021:

  • Oceania: 1.010 times
  • Latin America: 1.012 times
  • Middle East and Africa: 1.028 times
  • Eastern Europe: 1.106 times
  • Asia-Pacific: 1.272 times
  • Western Europe: 1.480 times
  • North America: 1.976 times
Market size growth from 2015 to 2021

In the UK, the proportion of adults using e-cigarette products increased from 1.7% in 2012 to 8.3% in 2022.

  1. E-cigarette Popularity

In the European region, the number of e-cigarette users reached 20 million, with a prevalence rate of 2.3%. In the United States, the number of e-cigarette users reached 16.8 million, with a prevalence rate of 1.8%.

E-cigarette Popularity
  1. E-cigarettes Banned in 36 Countries

E-cigarettes are banned in 36 countries, while another 84 countries have regulatory and legislative voids.

Read the full report here: Estimation of the global number of vapers: 82 million worldwide in 2021

Matthew Ma
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