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Topics: Health
Aisha Nozari
A health expert has issued a stark warning over the use of Elf Bars – colourful, sweet-flavoured disposable vapes that can be bought in newsagents and high street shops.
Despite vapes ‘generally’ being better than cigarettes, Dr Gareth Nye, a lecturer and researcher at the University of Chester, has said there is still ‘reasonable’ potential for lung damage and cancer.
Elf Bars have surged in popularity across the UK, with online vape platform IndeJuice reporting a whopping 279% increase in disposable vape sales during 2021’s final quarter.
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Popular Elf Bar flavours include watermelon, apple and blueberry.
Speaking to The Mirror, Dr Nye predicted seeing a ‘whole generation’ of 30-year-olds experience lung conditions in the next 10 years.
Dr Nye warned: “There is limited scientific evidence regarding these products, mainly [regarding] the liquid used to vape with, rather than the vaping device itself.”
He noted that the liquid in vapes such as Elf Bars can contain nicotine and some of the other harmful carcinogens and toxicants found in cigarettes.
Because of this, vapes still have the potential to cause lung damage and cancer, not to mention cardiovascular damage.
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Dr Nye also pointed out that although e-cigarettes aren’t packing the carbon monoxide and tar found in normal cigarettes, there are other chemicals found in vapes that can cause long-lasting damage to smokers’ lungs.
“A 2018 study showed that e-cigarette users had concentrations of metals and volatile chemicals (toluene, benzene, and carbon disulfide) comparable with those of cigarette smokers. These are the chemicals causing the long-lasting lung damage,” he explained.
Lung damage aside, vaping has also been linked to oral cancers, alongside dental conditions such as tooth decay.
To put it simply, Dr Nye urged people to think before they inhale chemicals into their lungs, something he explained causes a reaction from our immune systems, in turn damaging the lungs.
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Once we’ve damaged our lung tissue, it’s harder for our bodies to oxygenate blood, meaning pressure is placed on our hearts because they have to work harder.
“There is a worrying notion among young people that vapes and Elf Bars are 100% safe, which is simply not true,” Dr Nye said. "Even no nicotine versions are not safe," he concluded.
Alarmingly, a recent study by medRxiv showed a 14-fold increase in the number of vapers using disposable e-cigarettes like Elf Bars, jumping from 1.2% to 16.7%.
LADbible has reached out to Elf Bar for comment.