How many cigarettes are ‘in’ an Elf Bar? Everything you need to know about Britain’s best-selling vape

• Elf bars have soared in popularity, with one in 10 secondary school pupils users 
• However some are being sold to under 18s and containing illegal nicotine levels  

Yesterday a former minister called for them to be banned to prevent an ‘epidemic of teenage nicotine addicts’.

But the popularity of vapes, in particular Elf bars, continues to soar.

One in 10 secondary school pupils are now vape-users, despite the uncertainty surrounding their long-term impact on health.

And some products containing illegal levels of nicotine have been found to be sold in UK shops.

So what exactly is in the colourful vapes? And are they safe? MailOnline answers all your questions…

Elf Bars are a brand of e-cigarettes often sold in snazzy colours and with child-friendly names and flavours, like blue razz lemonade and green gummy bear

What is in an Elf Bar?

Elf Bars are a brand of e-cigarettes often sold in snazzy colours and flavours, like blue razz lemonade and green gummy bear.

They are vapes that use nicotine salt rather than freebase nicotine – which is used in normal cigarettes, other vaping products and nicotine gum or patches.

Nicotine salt is the form of nicotine found naturally on tobacco leaves. 

READ MORE: Disposable vapes like Elf bars should be BANNED in Britain, ex-health minister claims 

The Elf Bar 600 is advertised as coming in nicotine strengths of 0mg, 10mg and 20mg.

This represents the concentration of nicotine salt in the vape. 

Freebase nicotine, a purer form, is where the salt is chemically altered to increase its potency, according to Vape UK. 

Freebase has a stronger hit than nicotine salts.

How many cigarettes are ‘in’ an Elf bar?

Many people turn to e-cigarettes in a bid to stop smoking ordinary cigarettes.

The Elf Bar 600 contains the equivalent to 48 cigarettes, analysts say. 

It delivers 600 puffs before it needs to be thrown away, meaning, in theory, every 12.5 puffs equate to one cigarette.

The legal amount of nicotine in an e-liquid capacity in the UK is 2ml, equating to between 600 and 800 puffs.

But a Mail investigation found Elf bars containing 3,500 puffs are being illegally sold in the UK. 

A 3,500-puff vape is equivalent to a whopping 280 cigarettes. 

Are Elf bars better for your health than cigarettes?

Vaping products are considered to be better than cigarettes as users are exposed to fewer toxins and at lower levels, according to the NHS.

The health service adds that vaping instead of smoking cigarettes reduces your exposure to toxins that can cause cancer, lung disease and diseases of the heart and circulation, such as strokes and heart attacks. 

Public Health England, which is now defunct, published an expert independent review in 2015 concluding that e-cigarettes are around 95 per cent less harmful than cigarettes.

However vaping is not risk-free, as while levels in tobacco-products are much higher, e-cigarettes still contain harmful toxins, according to a study by researchers from the Medical University of Silesia in Poland.

And Dr Onkar Mudhar, a London dentist who posts videos on TikTok, said Elf bars can cause gum inflammation, swelling and bleeding.

One in 10 secondary school pupils are now vape-users, despite the uncertainty surrounding their long-term impact on health

Yesterday a former minister called for e-cigarettes, such as elf bars, to be banned to prevent an ‘epidemic of teenage nicotine addicts’ (file photo)

He said this is because nicotine dries out your mouth and reduces saliva, causing irritation from a build-up of bacteria and food that can’t get washed away.

Nearly 350 hospitalisations due to vaping were logged in England in 2022, which are thought to be mainly down to respiratory problems, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, lung inflammation and, in severe cases, respiratory failure. 

Where are Elf bars made and where can you buy them?

Elf bars are made in the city of Shenzen in southeastern China and are tested and submitted under the UK’s Tobacco and Related Products Regulations.

You can buy Elf bars both online and in stores, such as corner shops, in the UK.

Supermarkets Tesco, Sainsburys and Morrisons all sell the vapes, however removed some Elf Bar 600s from sale this week after the Mail found some exceeded legal nicotine levels.

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