DS26: Nicotine
Of the 370 students who completed the nicotine section of the survey, a third reported a consumption of nicotine, either regularly or in social contexts only. Among these, 77% smoke cigarettes, 54% vape, and 42% take snus or nicotine pouches.
Nationally, the share of youths that report using nicotine pouches has risen sharply in the last few years, contrasting with the steady decline in young smokers. Campus urinals, which are often littered with used pouches, are conspicuous victims of this trend.
A 2024 national survey found that 8.1% of people in the UK aged 18 to 24 years were smokers, meaning they report smoking cigarettes even if only occasionally – this is lower than the 26% of cigarette smokers found in this survey.
Most smokers (77%) have not tried quitting, but the share of successful quitters is higher in over-21s – with age comes wisdom. Only a third of smokers have confessed their vice to their doctor.
Within students that smoke, engineers are the heaviest smokers, followed by students at the Faculty of Natural Science. Defeating stereotypes, medical student smokers consumed the least amount of cigarettes on a weekly basis.
The podium above shows the most popular cigarette manufacturers students selected among various options. The third most popular choice was not actually a commercial brand but “imported brands” – which students prize for their cheap price tag and exotic chemical mix. And the second most popular option was “other” (blame last year’s Felix team for not adding a free text option). Benson & Hedges and Amber Leaf therefore came 4th and 5th respectively.
Ordered by decreasing popularity, students’ favourite vape flavour were lemon/lime, mango, mint/menthol, peach, and melon. “Not sure” was tied with mango, and “other fruit” came before mint/menthol. Non-fruit flavours like Cola didn’t fare very well. The most popular vape brands (not shown) were Crystal, Elf Bar and Lost Mary.
