Enter a UK nightclub tonight and you will find yourself surrounded by an inescapable cloud of fruity smoke. This candied plume of vapour comes from an Elf Bar, Gen Z’s newest accessory. The Elf Bar is a new, pre-filled disposable vape device that’s slimmer and more compact than a normal e-cigarette. In windows of discount phone shops and off licences and sold inside nightclubs and supermarkets, the hot pink, neon yellow and red-berry pens are neatly lined up in colour order like a fresh packet of Crayolas. They’re clutched in the hands of teenagers right the way through to young professionals, pulled out of bum bags at raves or perched on the table at after-work drinks.
On TikTok, young people are selling DIY Elf Bar holders, or reviewing each of the brand’s 28 flavours as though they’re critiquing a meal at a Michelin-star restaurant. One user (@ishaq_jpeg) even makes cocktail recipes inspired by the most popular Elf Bar flavours. The popularity of disposable vapes has soared in the last 12 months, according to Dan Judd, head of digital for Vape Superstore, one of the leading online vape suppliers in the UK. “Elf Bar sales have grown exponentially, with around a 450 per cent increase in the last six months,” he says. “We have also seen a new type of customer who is only buying disposable devices.”
