Adverts for Elf Bar disposable vapes, which are distributed in the UK by Supreme PLC (AIM:SUP), have been banned in the UK after using the slogan “recycling for a greener future” and the recycling symbol was ruled to be misleading on three accounts.
The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received ten complaints, including from Imperial Tobacco Ltd, part of FTSE 100-listed Imperial Brands PLC (LSE:IMB).
As ElfBar products are single-use vapes, which are not widely recyclable, the complainants suggested the ads were misleading because they did not make clear there were only limited recycling options for the products; were misleading about the environmental benefit that the products offered; and that the ads misled by highlighting a supposed unique environmental benefit that all disposable vape companies are legally obliged to comply.
Research has shown that 5 million single-use vape sticks are thrown away every week.
Digital posters from ElfBar maker Imiracle (HK), part of China's iMiracle Technologies, and on the sides of buses stated “RECYCLING FOR A GREENER FUTURE GreenAwareness” followed by the recycling symbol, and two vapes pictured.
In the ASA ruling today, the regulator found that the ads misled consumers into believing ElfBar's single-use vapes could be recycled through easily accessible routes like home recycling provisions, which is not the case. With limited recycling options available, this portrayal was deemed misleading.
Further, the ASA upheld complaints that the ads implied ElfBar vapes were completely recyclable and suggested they offered superior environmental benefits compared to competitors, without substantial evidence.
The authority stressed that highlighting an environmental benefit resulting from a legal obligation, applicable to all competing products, was misleading.
Supreme, which was not involved in the advert, yesterday said it was at the forefront of efforts to responsibly sell disposable vapes but reported results showing it made £26.4 million of revenue in less than four months after signing a deal to distribute ElfBar and Lost Mary vapes in June with iMiracle.
James Ward, a campaigner at Adfree Cities, called for a total ban on advertising nicotine vapes.
“Just as cigarettes scar the bodies of smokers, so has the rise in popularity of disposable vapes left a toxic legacy of plastic and harmful battery metals on our environment,” he said.
“Advertising for nicotine-containing vapes is prohibited on TV, radio, in print and online. That it is permitted on outdoor advertising is a glaring loophole in the law and highlights how outdoor advertising sadly so often provides a willing platform for polluting companies.
“That’s why we’re calling for a universal ban on vape advertising, a measure that will close the existing loophole.”
British American Tobacco PLC (LSE:BATS) earlier this week launched a "multi-pronged media campaign" urging tighter regulation on the vaping industry.
BAT was reported to have made an attempt to buy ElfBar last year, which analysts said was a questionable move at best, if the story is true in the first place.
Its concerns were about the bad press surrounding ElfBar, where reports in the Daily Mail suggested some devices contained 50% more than the legal limit of liquid nicotine were being sold in supermarkets, something the company attributed to a one-off mistake.