Originally written for The HLP App
Since our gradual return to normality after the COVID-19 pandemic, Elf Bars have taken the UK by storm. The colourful, cheap and disposable vapes have absolutely exploded in popularity in the last two years, with their sales increasing by 883% between May 2021 and May 2022; you’d be hard pressed to find a smoking area without one.
So, what exactly are these things? What effect do they have on our bodies? And why does it smell like candy floss everywhere? Let’s take a look.
What do they do?
Elf Bars are a form of disposable vape (I use the term disposable loosely, we’ll come back to that). They come in different strengths, colours, flavours and styles, but retain a simple and effective design. They’re awfully cheap, averaging out at about £5 a pop, and they generally last twice as long as a packet of 20 cigarettes.
For those of you that don’t know, a vape (short for vaporiser) is a device that heats up flavoured liquid to create a vapour that you inhale. They’re designed to help people quit or cut down on smoking. According to cancer research, vaping does you significantly less harm than smoking cigarettes. Sounds good, right?
Vaping has been around for, more or less, the last 20 years, so why the sudden explosion of interest? Let’s talk about what makes Elf Bars so special.
What’s their appeal?
The first thing you notice about Elf Bars is how they look; they’re colourful and interesting to look at, in stark contrast to cigarette packaging, which is intentionally dull and drab due to marketing laws. Elf Bar packaging is matte, sleek, and smart looking, designed to look like tech products (which I guess, to some extent, they are). Already, there’s prestige to owning an Elf Bar.
Secondly, there’s the huge range of flavours; around 30. They range from strawberry, to kiwi guava, to blueberry cheesecake. They’re fruity, sweet, and exciting. From the large range of flavours they have, it’s clear that they’re trying to conjure up thoughts of health with the fruit flavours, and thoughts of childlike nostalgic excitement with flavours like cotton candy, cheesecake and ice cream.
The packaging, marketing and flavours all combine to create a clear image: Elf Bars are fun, collectible, and good for you. On their website, they commit to delivering natural tasting products that are healthy. They’ve taken a smoking alternative, and made it more desirable than smoking.
Let’s take a closer look at the role of the Elf Bar in our social lives.
Elf Bars in a post-pandemic social world
Trends and fads have been a part of our social world since advertising and marketing have been a thing. A common strategy of brands and companies will be to apply social pressure to a product, making it essential. They’ve managed to make themselves a part of a conversation that everyone is having; people’s favourite flavours have genuinely become a long running ironic joke. Here are some genuine things I’ve heard in the pubs and bars of London over the last few weeks:
“Are you mad? Watermelon is absolute God tier flavour”
“It’s all about Banana Ice babes, and I won’t hear any different”
And my personal favourite: “Don’t listen to him, he likes Red Bull flavour”
Whatever they’re doing, it’s working.
So, what have we learned so far? Elf bars are a cheap alternative to smoking that people seem to really be on board with. What’s not to like? Let’s examine some of the potential dangers that Elf Bars pose.
Dangers
First things first: Elf Bars are clearly marketed to a younger demographic. They’re smooth, colourful, aesthetically pleasing, and the flavours all have a very child-like quality to them. Not only are they appealing to a younger audience, but they’re also making an older audience feel nostalgic.
I will be the first to admit that Elf Bars really caught my eye and pulled me in when I first saw them being sold. There was SO much choice, but it appealed to me on such a basic level, it reminded me of when I was younger, and everyone collected Pokémon cards. The colour, the variety, the fact that EVERYONE was talking about them, I felt like I needed to buy one, and I’d quit smoking almost 7 years ago.
Here’s our first problem: it’s making non-smokers buy nicotine products again, and by marketing to a younger audience, they could be ENCOURAGING kids who have never smoked before to buy an addictive product.
A study carried out by UCL tells us that the number of 18-year-olds that regularly vaped jumped from less than 1% in January 2021 to a staggering 57% in January 2022, which speaks for itself.
Whilst it must be pointed out that vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking, we also need to acknowledge the potential harmful effects it has. Dr Onkar Mudhar tells us that "not only is nicotine in these devices super addictive, it also puts you at risk of developing gum disease, dry mouth, tooth decay and early tooth loss".
In addition to this, Their American website has a medical warning attached to it, saying they contain substances known to cause cancer, although according to Cancer Research UK, there’s no solid evidence that vaping causes cancer.
Remember earlier when I used the word disposable? Well, there’s a problem with that word, as Elf Bars are made from plastic. This means they will never biodegrade.
In addition to this, they are powered by Lithium-Ion Batteries. These are expensive and need a huge amount of resources to produce, and it also means that Elf Bars are non-recyclable, meaning they’ll all just end up in a landfill.
Studies show us that as many as FIVE vapes are thrown away every SECOND In the United States. That’s a lot of landfill space.
With the demand for lithium-Ion batteries forecast to increase fivefold by 2030, the amount of energy and water needed to meet this demand will certainly not help the current climate crisis.
Conclusion
Whilst Elf Bars certainly have some undeniable benefits, their marketing has been specifically designed to signpost something more than just a way to quit smoking. They have become a cultural phenomenon, the effects of which could be quite sinister. If you’re looking to quit smoking by using disposable vapes, do so, but with caution.
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