‘Elf Bar’, a Chinese e-cigarette brand, has broken British advertising rules by promoting its products to young people.
An Observer investigation found that the product is being promoted by social influencers who claim to be paid for the advertisements.
The videos are not age restricted and in most cases are not clearly labelled as ads, often gathering hundreds of thousands of views on apps like TikTok, which is used by three-quarters of 16 to 17-year-olds and half of eight to 11-year-olds.
Experts have warned that the vapes, containing the highest concentration of nicotine permitted by UK law, are being increasingly used by under-18s as young as seven. The percentage of children who have tried vaping this year has reportedly risen from 14% to 16%.
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Worth around £1 billion a year, the UK vaping market has soared in the last year, with underage children ‘easily’ accessing the e-cigarettes online and on the high street.
The Chinese ‘Elf Bar’ brand produces disposable vapes, with flavours like bubblegum, cheesecake and watermelon most likely appealing to young people.
The Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) told the Observer this weekend that it wanted to see a review of flavours likely to appeal to children and stricter regulations with regards to banning brightly coloured packaging, like that used by Elf Bar.
“Despite vaping being of huge benefit to many people, the shocking increase in non-smokers and vapers picking up these products means we need to seriously consider the way these products are advertised and sold,” Chester University medical science programme leader Dr Gareth Nye added.
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