Elf Bar 600 series vape products are being removed from shelves at UK supermarkets after some were found to have illegal nicotine levels.
The Big Four supermarkets - Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons - have all responded to recent findings showing some products from the Chinese company having as much as 3ml and 3.2ml of nicotine in products, way over the 2ml UK limit. Elf Bar has 'wholeheartedly apologised' and are investigating the matter.
As reported by the Mirror, several major UK supermarkets have now removed the disposable items from their shelves as a result.
Morrisons said it was to remove the sale of all the Elf Bar 600 vapes products as part of its ongoing investigation.
A Morrisons spokesperson commented: "The products will only be returned to sale once stock that fully complies with UK legislation becomes available."
Both Tesco and Sainsbury's also confirmed the products were being removed 'temporarily'. An Asda spokesperson said they are 'working closely with this supplier' amid the ongoing investigation, but haven't yet confirmed they are removing items.
A Tesco spokesperson said: "We have temporarily removed one Elf Bar vape line from sale as a precautionary measure, whilst the manufacturer urgently investigates these claims."
A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: "We are in close contact with our supplier and have temporarily removed the affected Elf Bar product whilst they investigate further."
An Asda spokesperson said: "We are working closely with this supplier whilst they carry out a full investigation into this matter."
The investigation, which was carried out by the Daily Mail, found three flavours of Elf Bar 600 products had 3ml and 3.2ml of nicotine - at least 50 per cent over the legal limit.
A spokesman for Elf Bar told the Daily Mail: "We found out that some batches of the Elf Bar product have been overfilled in the UK.
"It appears that e-liquid tank sizes, which are standard in other markets [such as the US], have been inadvertently fitted to some of our UK products. We wholeheartedly apologise for the inconvenience this has caused."
Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Asda and Co op still sell single-use vapes, however Waitrose banned their sale in December as a result of their negative impact on the environment and the health of young people.
The Daily Record launched our Bin The Vapes campaign last month calling for disposable vapes to be banned after Scotland’s streets became a plastic dumping ground.
The Scottish Government has since launched an urgent review - headed by Zero Waste Scotland - into the impact of the devices which have been linked to issues such as litter, plastic waste and fire risk.
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