Out of 25 universities Bristol has the fourth highest number of students who use Elf Bars

43 per cent of students said each Elf Bar lasted them only a few days


The Tab gathered responses from 18,000 students from across 25 UK universities regarding their use of Elf Bars. The information was submitted via Instagram accounts run by The Tab’s local teams of student journalists. 1,741 University of Bristol students took part and the results are in. 

61 per cent (1,064) of Bristol Uni students revealed that they had used an Elf Bar since the start of September 2022. This is the fourth highest number of students out of 25 universities. Oxford Brookes has the highest amount of students and Cambridge is at the bottom with 26 per cent of students saying they have used an Elf Bar since September 2022.  

Elf Bars are a fairly recent phenomena and have become extremely popular in the last year or two. But what is it that makes them so popular? Is it the cute colours, the fun flavours, the detrimental effect they’re having on the environment, or perhaps it is the appealing price at only £4.95?

43 per cent said each bar lasted them only a few days and nine per cent claimed an Elf Bar only lasts them one night out. For reference, each Elf Bar has the same nicotine dosage as 48 cigarettes. I don’t know about you guys but unless I was sitting in a piazza in Rome, I couldn’t get through two and a half packs of straights in one night. 

23 per cent of you all are buying at least two colourful Elf Bars in a single week. This is hardly a surprise as Elf Bars come with none of the limitations of smoking. No time is wasted getting a paper and a lighter and then heading to the designated smoking area. Elf Bars can be consumed for hours in bed and a sneaky puff on the dance floor or in the ASS is a common occurrence. 

A survey by Opinium found that we buy roughly 168 million disposable vapes in the UK each year and throw away two every second. 

Your Elf Bar however is not going to biodegrade. A disposable vape left on the ground or sent to landfill will only ever break down into microplastics and chemicals which can then enter the soil or waterways.

Vape pens originally were advertised as a way to help smokers quit but 46 per cent of students said they had not smoked before buying their first Elf Bar. 

Not all hope is lost though because 71 per cent of voters consider themselves not to be addicted. Right, you could stop if you wanted. 

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