Wednesday October 21st 2026
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
The number of people who smoke in the Scottish Borders has almost halved in the last decade, according to new figures.
An average of 10.4 per cent of adults in the region smoked between 2021 and 2025, official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show, down from 18.3 per cent between 2012 and 2016.
The figure amounts to a 43.2 per cent fall in smokers across the Borders.
The statistics have been analysed and compiled by Ecigone, the online vape company – (https://ecigone.co.uk/)
The company believes the decline in smoking coincides with people using vaping as a way of giving up nicotine.
Across the UK, the average fell from 17.9 per cent to 11.1 per cent, down 38 per cent.
In Scotland it fell by 37.8 per cent, from 20.1 per cent to 12.5 per cent.
Elsewhere in Scotland, the biggest fall was in Edinburgh, down 49.1 per cent from 17.1 per cent to 8.7 per cent.
Shane Margereson, founder of Ecigone, said: “When the first of these figures were collected, very few people trying to stop smoking used a vape.
“By the time of the latest ones, vapes had been the most popular stop smoking aid in England for more than a decade.
“Nobody can say exactly how much of the fall is down to that, because tax rises, plain packs and stop smoking services have all played a part, but the timing is hard to ignore.”
He added: “Seeing smoking in the Scottish Borders fall by 43.2 per cent in about a decade is a big shift in a habit that used to be everywhere.”
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