Elf Bar vapes removed from shelves after being found to be 50% over legal nicotine limit
Elf Bar vapes have been taken off shelves after the company admitted to 'inadvertently' selling products in the UK with illegal levels of nicotine.
One line of the disposable vape pens had been found to be at least 50 percent over the legal nicotine limit.
Popular UK supermarkets including Sainsbury's, Tesco and Morrisons had been stocking the above-limit products.
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The Elf Bar 600, voted as the '#1 Best Disposable Vape', has recently come under fire due to the level of nicotine inside each pen.
Vaping products containing nicotine are regulated under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations act.
The current legal nicotine limit stands at 2ml, or two percent in strength, yet a batch of the models was found to contain between 3ml and 3.2ml of liquid nicotine - 50 percent more nicotine than is legally allowed
The e-cigarette giant has since admitted to the error after conducting laboratory tests on the Elf Bar 600 models.
A spokesperson for the Chinese company ‘wholeheartedly apologised’ for 'inadvertently' breaking the law in a statement to Metro.
"We found out that some batches of the Elf Bar product have been overfilled in the UK," they revealed.
Dubbing the ordeal a 'highly regrettable situation', the company assured customers that the 'inadvertent' overfilling did not affect the product's safety.
"It appears that e-liquid tank sizes which are standard in other markets have been inadvertently fitted to some of our UK products," the brand explained.
"We wholeheartedly apologise for the inconvenience this has caused."
Elf Bar vapes first entered the market in 2018 and its website states it has been 'making an effort' to produce 'innovative products'.
It sells vape pens in over 30 flavours, including 'Strawberry Kiwi', 'Blue Sour Raspberry' and 'Strawberry Ice Cream'.
A Tesco spokesperson has since released a statement on the matter, telling Metro: "We have temporarily removed one Elf Bar vape line from sale [...] whilst the manufacturer urgently investigates these claims."
Morrisons, too, said they would 'investigate' the matter.
They said: "We are taking this very seriously and confirm we’re working closely with Elf Bar and Trading Standards to investigate this further."
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson stated that 'local enforcement agencies' are responsible for the regulation of such products.
They added that these agencies also have a duty of 'taking action' against non-compliant products including products that 'do not comply' with the 2ml nicotine limits.
UNILAD has contacted Elf Bar for further comment.
Rhiannon Ingle