Chinese companies are flooding the UK market with adapted ‘throw away’ vapes and flavours attractive to children that could circumvent a Government ban on disposables.
Hayati, Pixl, SKE, and Elfbar are among the firms with manufacturing plants in what has been dubbed the ‘vape capital of the world’.
Companies with bases in Shenzhen, in China’s Guangdong province, are now selling 3million so-called ‘Big Puff’ products each week in Britain.
And critics say the Government’s ban on disposable vapes – first announced by then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration in January last year – could be left ‘meaningless’ due to people using rechargeable batteries and refillable 10ml pods.
These click into devices, refilling the tanks’ 2ml legal capacity five times while extending the life of any unit past the new official disposables definition of ‘single use only’.
Some provide up to 15,000 puffs before the devices are binned – while disposables average about 600 puffs per unit.
They potentially work out to be more cost-effective than the one-use products set to be banned by the Government on June 1.
The Conservatives’ shadow health minister Dr Caroline Johnson has called for an amendment to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to limit the size of refill tanks and prevent adaptations that could circumvent the disposables ban.
This was rejected by former health minister Andrew Gwynne, days before he was fired by Sir Keir Starmer over the ‘Shiver Me Timbers’ WhatsApp scandal.
The colourful Big Puff vapes – which include flavours such as Blue Razz Gummy Bear, Cotton candy and Cherry Pop – comply with regulations by using separate components, with a maximum strength of 20mg.
The Hayati Twist 5000 – said to ‘glow’ and add a ‘fun element’ to vaping – says on an advert it is ‘100% Comply with U.K. New Law’, while also describing itself as a ‘legal Big Puff’.
They are advertised as being better than throw away vapes, because they last longer before being binned.
One ad by Pixl calls their device a great choice for those looking for a ‘long lasting disposable vape’ – and includes a picture of a brightly coloured vape with the caption: ‘LOOKS SO GOOD IT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL.’
Manchester-based brand Zap! sells Gummy Bear flavoured devices said to ‘deliver up to 3500 puffs, lasting longer than five standard disposable vapes or 100 cigarettes’.
Among those now raising concerns is Andrew Horton, owner of independent store vape-57, in Crowthorne in Berkshire which opened in 2018 and regularly deals with distributors.
He said that while Chinese manufacturers were careful to operate within the law, they seemed alert to any future changes in legislation that might impact profits and how they adapt the manufacture of vapes.
Mr Horton said: ‘They can keep one step ahead of government plans – always thinking what the next move will be, and reinvent, redesign and recalibrate their factories to mass produce the designs that can stay compliant with any law change.
‘There is a disposable ban? No problem – make it rechargeable, add a refill tank and make it more than single use. They will always find ways to adapt.
‘Any product that is age-gated has to be strictly regulated. The UK is one of the biggest vaping countries in the world and China knows this – they are going to ensure they meet with current legislation in order to continue accessing this market.’
Industry experts have highlighted how Chinese companies are able to adapt so quickly because of their manufacturing methods.
Many production lines rely on hand assembly for certain components, alongside automated production – allowing for flexibility in adapting to new designs.
The Conservatives’ shadow health secretary Dr Caroline Johnson tabled an amendment to the Government’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
She said vaping devices sold within the UK ‘should not allow for refill containers to be attached to a device post purchase to increase its capacity beyond the legally accepted limits’.
Dr Johnson added: ‘This is a critical public health measure, because larger capacities could encourage excessive consumption of nicotine, posing potential risks to users, particularly younger people or those who may be more vulnerable to nicotine addiction.’
Traders have reported a drop in disposable sales since the Government announced this June’s ban, but a spike in sales of legal Chinese alternatives.
Mr Horton said: ‘Disposables sales dropped from 20 per cent to five per cent of my total sales in a day, but I am now selling far more Big Puffs.
‘This happened because people assumed such a ban meant all vaping was bad, when it is so much safer than smoking.
‘Since then, disposable sales have been replaced by Big Puffs for the most part, because they are still disposable but much cheaper.
‘My fear is some social smokers, who had relied on disposables but then had presumed they were terrible due to the disposable ban are having three or four cigarettes when they go out instead of a vape. This is much, much worse for them.’
Vaping sales been soaring, up by 37 per cent in the last year, from 9.9million per week in 2023 to 13.5million in 2024, according to latest figures.
About one in eight, or 12 per cent, of UK adults reported vaping – and the sector’s turnover grew by 23.4 per cent from 2017 to 2021, reaching £1.325billion in the last year alone.
Yet the rising influence of China-based vaping sellers is causing concern, as the current bill makes it way through Parliament.
Mark Oakes, founder of British campaigning group We Vape, said: ‘It is so important to get good regulations and good enforcement of vaping products.
‘As we can see with Big Puffs, China is working around the rules. They have saturated the UK market unchallenged, with the Government turning a blind eye – instead the Government wants to reduce the freedom of adults to vape safer nicotine products.’
‘While we welcome some elements of the new bill, like a vape licensing scheme, the separate disposables ban is increasingly looking like a meaningless venture.
‘They are just going to be replaced by something else that is disposable and costs less, and probably sold on the illegal market.’
Research by pro-recycling charity Material Focus in December estimated that 8.2million single-use, and single-use pod vapes are discarded or incorrectly recycled weekly in the UK.
It also suggested 63 per cent of all inhalation from vapes in the UK came from ‘Big Puff’ devices.
And at 0.19p per ‘Big Puff’, compared to 0.83p per puff for a single-use vape, their popularity has surged in just six months, especially among young people.
The study showed 48 per cent of people aged between 16 and 34 favoured the devices, as opposed to 36 per cent of 35-to-55-year-olds.
The 3million ‘Big Puffs’ bought per week compares to 5.3million single-use vapes.
Concerns have been raised about reducing the availability of vapes to people wanting to quit smoking and that banning advertising denies people information about safer alternatives to tobacco.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is currently at report stage, before its final Commons debate. It will then progress to the House of Lords.
has contacted Hayati, Pixl, SKE, and Elfbar for comment.
How much nicotine is in an e-cigarette?
There are many different brands of e-cigarettes, containing various different nicotine levels.
The legal amount of nicotine in an e-liquid capacity in the UK is 20mg/ml equating to between 600 and 800 puffs.
The Elf Bar 600, one of Britain’s most popular vapes, is advertised as coming in nicotine strengths of 0mg, 10mg and 20mg.
How many cigarettes are ‘in’ an e-cigarette?
The Elf Bar 600 contains the equivalent to 48 cigarettes, analysts say.
It delivers 600 puffs before it needs to be thrown away, meaning, in theory, every 12.5 puffs equate to one cigarette.
Experts say for many e-cigarettes, 100 puffs equate to ten normal cigarettes.
Is vaping better for your health than cigarettes?
Vaping products are considered to be better than cigarettes as users are exposed to fewer toxins and at lower levels, according to the NHS.
The health service adds that vaping instead of smoking cigarettes reduces your exposure to toxins that can cause cancer, lung disease and diseases of the heart and circulation, such as strokes and heart attacks.
Public Health England, which is now defunct, published an expert independent review in 2015 concluding that e-cigarettes are around 95 per cent less harmful than cigarettes.
However vaping is not risk-free, as while levels in tobacco-products are much higher, e-cigarettes still contain harmful toxins, according to a study by researchers from the Medical University of Silesia in Poland.
And Dr Onkar Mudhar, a London dentist who posts videos on TikTok, said Elf bars can cause gum inflammation, swelling and bleeding.
He said this is because nicotine dries out your mouth and reduces saliva, causing irritation from a build-up of bacteria and food that can’t get washed away.
Nearly 350 hospitalisations due to vaping were logged in England in 2022, which are thought to be mainly down to respiratory problems, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, lung inflammation and, in severe cases, respiratory failure.