One of the biggest drivers behind the switch to vaping was price. Cigarettes have been pushed out of reach by tax; a pack can easily top £14. Vapes, meanwhile, were sold as the cheaper alternative — disposables for a few pounds, refillables and pods promising hundreds of puffs at a fraction of the cost. For many smokers, the maths looked simple.

The catch: affordability changes behaviour. When something highly addictive becomes cheaper and easier to use, people consume more of it — far more. With vaping there’s no “end of the cigarette,” no ritual that forces a pause. The device is always there, always on, and each puff feels virtually free. The result is heavier use, higher overall nicotine intake, and dependence that digs in deeper.

Affordability drives frequency

Cigarettes ration behaviour. You light one, finish it, and you’re done — at least for a while. Vapes remove that brake. People take hundreds of small hits across the day: at the desk, in the car, between tasks, even in places they’d never smoke. Because the “cost per puff” feels tiny, there’s little psychological barrier to restraint. Consumption climbs quietly.

Nicotine salts: faster, smoother, stickier

Modern devices often use nicotine salts — stronger, smoother, faster-absorbed. That makes each cheap puff more reinforcing. Over time, users aren’t just maintaining addiction; they’re escalating it, finding it harder to cut down or stop, and experiencing classic stimulant side-effects: headaches, poor sleep, jitteriness, gut irritation and feeling “on edge” without the device.

The false economy

On paper, vaping looks cheaper:

• Pack-a-day smoker: ~30 packs/month × £14 ≈ £420/month.
• Daily disposable vaper: 30 × £6 ≈ £180/month.

But each disposable can contain ~600 puffs — roughly 3× the “hits” of a pack of cigarettes. So while the cash spend may fall, nicotine exposure often surges. The real price shows up in dependence and day-to-day symptoms, not just the bank statement.

Why policy must look beyond price

Calling vaping “cheaper” misses the point. Price isn’t a standalone benefit when the product is engineered for frequent use and fast-acting reinforcement. Without strong limits on youth access, marketing and nicotine strength, affordability becomes a vector for overuse. The predictable outcome: bigger dependence, more symptoms, and a harder road out.

Bottom line

Vaping’s financial appeal helped it spread. But cheap, endless nicotine is not harmless. What looked like a saving has become a trap: higher total consumption, stronger addiction, and rising health complaints. When something addictive is both affordable and ever-present, the true cost isn’t on the receipt — it’s paid every hour you can’t put it down.