UK Tories Receive £350,000 in Donations from Vaping Industry

Supreme 8 Ltd, the maker of Elf Bar disposable e-cigarettes, was a major donor to the UK Conservative Party in spring 2023 and is believed to be seeking to influence any measures the Conservative government may take in the near future to curb rising youth vaping.

In the second quarter of 2023, Supreme 8 Ltd, producer of Elf Bar disposable e-cigarettes, was the third largest donor to the British Conservative Party, with a donation of £350,000 (€410,000).[1]This donation is suspected of limiting the scope of the repressive measures that the Conservative Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, had announced in parallel, in May 2023, against the vaping industry which deliberately target minors through their marketing.

Quadruple number of discarded e-cigarettes in a single year

Having become one of the very first producers of disposable electronic cigarettes ("puffs") and e-liquids, Supreme 8 is among the manufacturers offering puffs in the flavors Melon-bubblegum or Cotton Candy Ice. A report from Supreme 8 had stated that "a risk of government action for stricter legislation and regulations"[2], such as the ban on selling puffs to under-18s.

The non-governmental organization (NGO) Material Focus had for its part communicated, on September 8, 2023, research indicating that the number of discarded puffs had quadrupled in the space of a single year.[3]. Of the 7.7 million puffs sold each week in the UK, five million units are thrown away compared to 1.3 million in 2022, or eight puffs thrown away every second. As puffs contain a lithium battery, the disposal of their waste in the environment or in the classic waste circuit is very problematic. The costs of cleaning and recycling these puffs are estimated at £200 million (€234 million) by Material Focus, but are not borne by the manufacturers, importers and resellers of these puffs.

Restrict marketing of puffs and their access to minors

Among the government's intentions to restrict access to puffs, various measures are being considered, such as banning the offering of free samples of puffs to children or the sale of puffs deemed "nicotine-free" to minors.

Wes Streeting, the Labour shadow health minister, has expressed regret at the Tories' conflict of interest in accepting the significant donation from Supreme 8. He said Labour wanted to put a stop to the the vaping epidemic among young Britons, by banning the marketing and labelling of e-cigarettes aimed at children. Scottish public health and paediatrician organisations had called for the complete ban puffs, a public consultation on the subject in 2024 having been announced on 5 September 2023 by the Scottish First Minister[4].

Already banned in several countries, puffs are expected to be banned soon In France.

Keywords: UK, disposable e-cigarettes, puffs, Elf Bar, Supreme 8, Conservative Party, donation.

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[1] Forrest A, Tories accept £350,000 donation from vape firm despite crackdown on e-cigarettes for children, The Indepedent, published September 8, 2023, accessed September 11, 2023.

[2] Scott G, Tories accept £350,000 donation from vape firm, The Times, published September 8, 2023, accessed September 11, 2023.

[3] Material Focus, Number of disposable single-use vapes thrown away have in a year quadrupled to 5 million per week, press release, published September 8, 2023, accessed September 11, 2023.

[4] Sodha S, Call for UK ban on single-use vapes as more than 5m discarded each week, The Guardian, published September 8, 2023, accessed September 11, 2023.