Today we’ll cover a core vape safety question: “Is an Elf Bar bad for you?” The popularity of this disposable vape has risen dramatically in recent months. As such, it’s leading people to ask understandable questions about vaping health effects, e-liquid ingredients and general vape safety as a whole. In this quick read, we’ll explore the common health and safety concerns around the Elf Bar and vaping overall.

What is an Elf Bar?

First, it helps if we define what an Elf Bar is and provide some perspective on the brand. An Elf Bar device is a type of disposable vape. It has an internal battery and contains a prefilled pod of vape liquid in a range of fruit and ice flavours such as strawberry ice. A ready made vape kit, the Elf Bar is lightweight and easy to get at almost any grocer, petrol station or vape shop. It’s one of the most popular disposable vape brands on the market and has risen in popularity with recent vaping trends towards smaller, binnable options. According to Elf Bar themselves, they “present users with a distinct mouthfeel experience, and share an interactive, communal, and companionable experience with them. With ELFBAR, embrace a brand new lifestyle and unlock new levels of imagination and inspiration through all the diverse experiences.” Just their original Elf Bar 600 range alone, named so due to the 600 puffs you get, contains over 40 unique flavours for users to try and we stock 15 varieties of their new Elf Bar 600 V2 bar.

Health Implications of Vaping

With the increased popularity of the Elf Bar disposables, people are more interested in vaping health effects and e-liquid ingredients than ever before. According to Cancer Research UK, “Research so far shows that legal e-cigarettes are far less harmful than smoking. For people who smoke, legal e-cigarettes are an option to help them stop. [But] e-cigarettes are not risk-free. We don't yet know their long-term effects, so children and people who have never smoked shouldn't use them.” You could develop a cough, tooth decay, gum disease, heart effects or irritation to your throat and lungs by using Elf Bars. Since the long-term vaping health effects aren’t known, it’s not clear if these vaping health effects are reversible. However, if you currently smoke, the NHS reports that vaping is way less harmful and can “help you gradually let go of [smoking routines] while immediately reducing the health risks of smoking cigarettes.” There are less toxic chemicals in e-liquid ingredients, but they are not harmless. There are vaping health effects with any brand. Our advice is that if you’ve never smoked, you probably shouldn’t try the Elf Bar vape.

Ingredients in Elf Bar

The main e-liquid ingredients in an Elf Bar vape kit are Vegetable Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Natural and Artificial Flavours and Nicotine Benzoate if you aren’t on zero nicotine. If we look at the cola bar for example, there are additional e-liquid ingredients unique to that bar which are 2-isopropyl-N,2,3-trimethyl-butyramide, Cinnamaldehyde, Furaneol, Citral, Neral, beta-Pinene and dl-Limonene (racemic). This impacts vape safety as the mix of chemicals could be different in each vape, so determining the vaping health effects is not an exact science. You want to look beyond just the nic salt quantity.

The main ingredients Vegetable Glycerin and Propylene Glycol are ‘safe’ when taken orally but we don’t know the long-term vaping health effects of turning them into an aerosol. We know nicotine can damage the heart and lungs and benzoate can turn into a carcinogen if exposed to vitamin C. There are also concerns about the long-term vaping health effects of the coolants used such as 2-isopropyl-N, and 2,3-trimethyl-butyramide as only short-term studies show no changes. Lastly, some of the flavourings, when mixed into a vapour, can turn into carcinogens like formaldehyde. So, Elf Bars are not without their risks, although it’s important to note that the vaping health effects are still much less than those of cigarettes.

Popular Flavours

The elf bar range includes many flavours including:

Strawberry ice plus strawberry ice cream

Strawberry kiwi

Cherry ice

Peach ice

Pineapple peach mango

Apple peach

Banana ice

Blue razz lemonade

Cotton candy ice

Our website contains a full list to find your preferred elf bar flavour whether you're browsing our elf bar 600 or elf bar 600 v2. All come with a standard 20mg nic salt.

Pros and Cons of Using an Elf Bar Disposable

Pros

1. Lightweight A disposable vape is easy to carry around and convenient to buy.
2. Hassle-free They don’t need to be charged or repaired, only replaced after 600 puffs.
3. Range Elf Bars formulate their e-liquid ingredients into dozens of unique flavours.
4. No fill A disposable vape is less messy as they don’t need filling with juice.
5. Affordable Using an Elf Bar will only cost you a few quid.
6. Private They’re not as noticeable as a standard vape kit.

Cons

1. Sustainability Reusable kits are better for the planet in the long term.
2. Adds up Over time, replacing smoking with a disposable vape is more expensive than refillable kits.
3. Waste Even if there are e-liquid ingredients left in the Elf Bar when the battery dies, the experience is over.
4. Minimal There are no options for increasing cloud volume.

Safety Precautions When Using Elf Bar

There’s more than vaping health effects to think about when using a disposable vape. You also need to consider vape safety when storing and puffing on your Elf Bar. The first tip is to keep your Elf Bar stored vertically, right side up. This can prevent leakage. Keep them in a cool, dry place - like a cupboard or drawer, to maintain freshness. Don’t leave them out in the sunlight or toss them into a fire, they might explode.

And, please, take your Elf Bars to the proper waste recycling centre or designated bins at your grocer or petrol station. This can help ensure they are recycled and reduce the environmental impact of disposable vape use overall. Because of their internal battery, vape safety best practice says they shouldn’t go in the normal rubbish or standard recycling. If you’re not sure how to recycle your Elf Bar device, visit your local council website or talk to a brick-and-mortar vape retailer like us for more information.

Overall, we’ve shared a balanced view on vape safety and the potential health risks of the Elf Bar device. We’ve explained the research around vaping versus smoking and non-smoking users and what to look out for. The long-term impact of the disposable vape just isn’t known, but most major health resources in the UK agree that the vaping health effects and e-liquid ingredients are less harmful to you than traditional cigarettes. So, if you’re looking to try your first disposable vape, just remember to store them safely and recycle them properly so you’re not contributing to the sustainability concerns around these smoking cessation tools. And if you need any help finding the right Elf Bar for you, reach out to our team and we’ll guide you through the various options available.