Disposable vapes are the latest craze hitting the streets, they come in a wide variety of colours and flavours but they all have two things in common – their low price point and high nicotine content.
Like other forms of vaping, they are much safer than traditional smoking, but the high nicotine content that make up the basis of the products means that they are incredibly addictive.
As opposed to refillable vapes, disposable bars use nic-salts, which were initially designed to be used as a cigarette alternative for people who have long intervals between vaping, but it does not take walking around in public long to see this is not how they are used.
People often use the devices inside clubs, pubs and bars as an alternative to having to go outside the venue into smoking areas, and their small size and easy to use functionality support this.
However, this means that often the devices are used at a very high frequency and often may not even last the duration of a whole night out.
There are a wide variety of brands that supply the bars but they all come at around £3 to £5 and can be bought from any vape shop and most off licenses.
One such brand is Elf Bars, at £3.99 per bar they contain the equivalent amount of nicotine as 45 cigarettes over the 600 puffs included, which would set you back around £30 for the traditional counterpart.
A regular cigarette contains, amongst its other more harmful ingredients, between 7.5mg- 13.4mg of nicotine.
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@geordievapeman2nd on TikTok urged followers to be more mindful of the amount of nicotine in Geek Bars and Elf Bars, especially for new vapers who did not previously smoke.
Disposable bars hold 2ml of 20mg nic-salts reaching the legal commercial limit for nicotine products in the UK.
Tim, who works at Totally Wicked vape shop based in Nottingham city centre said he doesn’t generally recommend disposable vapes, adding: “they are full of flavourings, which makes them even more addictive.
“Most people that buy them from us are university students.
“For anyone wanting to vape long-term we would always point them towards a refillable vape.”
Refillable vapes use nicotine e-juice, which can contain the same amount of nicotine content but it is delivered slower when used compared to nic-salts, meaning the user gets less of a nicotine “rush” and therefore making them less addictive.
Ben Hadfield, 22, is an ex-smoker who uses Geek Bars said: “They are much more convenient but I can see how they can be addictive.
“I only tend to use mine when I need a quick nicotine hit or on a night out.”
Dr Onkar Mudhar, a long standing dentist with a large social media following of 24,000 on TikTok told his followers: “The high nicotine in a geek bar puts you at risk of developing tooth decay, gum disease and early tooth loss” amongst other conditions.
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Disposable vapes carry much fewer risks than cigarettes so taking them up instead could be said to be a good thing, but it is hard to say how many people understand the real implications of the habit.
Often they are used not to kick the habit of smoking but to start a new one of more convenient nicotine addiction.
The bars are a cheap and easy alternative to smoking that do not seem to be going anywhere fast, rather their popularity is growing.
