The rise in vaping, especially amongst teenagers and young adults, is causing concern for underwriters for insurance policies. It isn’t just about smoking anymore.
It took 50 or so years for us to understand the dangers of smoking and the carcinogenic effects of cigarettes, so it will take us a while to understand how bad vapes are, but underwriters are looking at it now, and starting to take it into account when deciding how much to charge for premiums for life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection.
The number of e-cigarette users has rapidly increased from 800,000 in 2012 to 5.6 million in 2025.
The use of e-cigarettes in 16 – 24 year olds has surged from 3.5% at the start of 2020 to over 28% in January 2025.
I wasn’t aware of the following worrying data:
Fires caused by vapes and e-cigarettes have more than doubled in the past two years in the UK, primarily due to the discarding of disposable vapes, which contain lithium-ion batteries.
Since 2021, the use of higher-strength e-liquids has also risen, with more than half of those who have never smoked now using e-liquids with a concentration of 20mg or more. A 20mg vape delivers the same amount of nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes!!
The chemicals in e-cigarette vapor have been linked to lung damage and death, nicotine poisoning, which can cause seizures and brain damage.
Vapes containing spice, a class of synthetic drugs often marketed as legal cannabis alternatives, are becoming an increasing concern in the UK, particularly among school children.
Reading all about this made me even more determined to make sure that my own kids do not use these horrible things, and my threats of slapping them have doubled (I know you can’t really slap your kids but I come from the generation where you can threaten them!!).
The takeaway – vapes don’t just wreck your health, they can wreck your finances too. If you think puffing on one of these things is harmless, think again — underwriters already see it as a red flag. That means higher premiums and tougher terms.
In short, vaping could cost you your health and your future security.
