What Are Puff Bars? (Brand, Types, Flavours, Legality)

"Puff Bars" are a specific line of disposable electronic cigarettes, or vapes, produced by the company of the same name, Puff Bar. Puff Bars are known for their convenience and variety of flavours and have gained significant popularity in the vaping community. However, the term "Puff Bar" is also a generic term used to describe the entire category of disposable vapes, regardless of the actual brand. This phenomenon, known as a proprietary eponym, occurs when a brand name becomes so widely recognised that it's used to refer to the entire category of similar products.

What Are Puff Bars?

Puff Bar e-cigarettes (or “Puff Bars”) are disposable vapes that were launched in 2019 and originally designed to mimic the well-known JUUL brand. However, unlike JUUL, which features replacement pods, Puff Bar products are disposable and designed to be discarded once the battery is depleted or the e-juice is used up.

Puff Bar is a brand of electronic cigarettes. Puff Bar is the second most popular electronic cigarette brand in the US after Juul, according to a 2021 article by the Wall Street Journal. Nick Minas and Patrick Beltran are the founders of Puff Bar.

One of the key features of Puff Bar vapes is their simplicity. They are draw-activated, meaning users simply need to draw on the mouthpiece to activate the device. Puff Bars do not have any buttons or complicated settings. Additionally, as Puff Bars are disposable, maintenance tasks such as refilling or recharging are not required.

The Rise of Puff Bars Set The Trend For Other Disposable Vapes

The popularity of Puff Bars is one of the main causes of the disposable vape trend, including the creation of e-cigarettes from brands such as Elf Bar, Lost Mary and SKE Crystal. Disposable vapes are convenient, easy to use, require no maintenance, and can be discarded after use, making them an attractive option for both experienced vapers and those new to vaping.

The disposable vape trend is one of the main concerns among public health officials and parents, leading to calls for stricter regulations on the sale and marketing of disposable vapes to minors, according to a statement released by the Local Government Association on 14 July 2023.

How Do You Use Puff Bars?

To use a Puff Bar, remove the vape from the pack and draw on the mouthpiece, triggering the inhale-activated atomiser to produce vapour. Puff Bars are pre-filled and pre-charged. This ease of use and simplicity is one of the key selling points of Puff Bars and other disposable vapes.

Why Are Puff Bars Banned?

Puff Bars are not banned and are still widely available in three zero nicotine types: Puff Plus Zero, Puff Ultra Zero, and Puff Delta (THC). Confusion over US regulations, particularly the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2022, is the primary cause of the incorrect belief that Puff Bar e-cigarettes are illegal. Similarly, Puff Bar e-cigarettes and other disposable vapes are not banned in the UK, provided that they comply with the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016, which Puff Bars are compliant with.

In July 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products issued a regulation that effectively banned Puff Bar e-cigarettes due to their high intake among teens. Puff Bar products returned to the market in February 2021 by switching to synthetic nicotine, which was unregulated by the FDA until the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2022. Following this regulatory change, Puff Bars remain legal but are now only available in nicotine-free options.

Disposable vapes like Puff Bars are not banned in the UK, but on 12 October 2023, the UK government launched a public consultation on youth vaping as part of measures to clamp down on vapes being promoted to children.

What Safe Puff Bar Alternatives Are Available?

Elf Bar, Lost Mary and SKE Crystal Bar e-cigarettes are great nicotine-containing vape choices for safe and reliable alternatives to nicotine-free Puff Bars. These alternative disposable vapes are compliant with UK laws and are successfully registered with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The safest disposable vapes include e-cigarettes from brands such as Just Juice x Oxbar, Gold Bar, Aroma King, Bear Aspire R1, and NZO SMOK Novo.

What Components Are Inside Puff Bars?

The five key components inside Puff Bars are the atomiser, wick, e-liquid, battery, and mouthpiece. The atomiser is the heating element that vaporises the e-liquid and is typically made of a coil of thin wire wrapped around a cotton wick. The wick is a piece of absorbent cotton that draws the e-liquid into the coil. The e-liquid is the substance that is vaporised by the atomiser and typically contains the following four ingredients: propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, flavourings, and nicotine. The battery is the power source that heats up the atomiser. The mouthpiece is the part of the device that the user draws on to inhale the vapour.

What is the Nicotine Content in Puff Bars?

E-cigarettes by the Puff Bar brand are nicotine-free, but the most common nicotine strength for non-Puff Bar branded disposable vapes is 20 mg (2%). When first launched in 2019, Puff Bar e-cigarettes were available in 20 mg (2%) and 50 mg (5%), but these were discontinued following the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2022. The brand then released Puff Plus Zero, Puff Ultra Zero, and Puff Delta (THC), all of which are zero nicotine.

What Flavours of Puff Bars Are There?

Puff Bar e-cigarettes are available in three types: Puff Plus Zero, Puff Ultra Zero, and Puff Delta (THC). All three types of Puff Bars contain zero nicotine and come in a variety of flavours.

The 20 available flavours of Puff Plus Zero by Puff Bar are listed below:

• Aloe Grape
• Aloe Mango Berry
• Apple Cucumber Mint
• Banana Ice
• Banana Mint
• Blue Razz Pomegranate
• Blueberry Ice
• Cool Mint
• Glacier Ice
• Grape Ice
• Lemon Razz
• Mango Peach Watermelon
• Mango Pineapple Ice
• Melon Kiwi
• Mystery
• Raspberry Melon
• Sour Apple
• Straw Watermelon
• Strawberry Lush
• Watermelon Slush

The 5 available flavours of Puff Ultra Zero by Puff Bar are listed below:

• Black Cherry Ice
• Cooler Mint
• Orange Mandarin Sorbet
• Passion Fruit Guava Ice
• Summer Peach Ice

The 23 available flavours of Puff Delta (THC) by Puff Bar are listed below:

• Atomic Apple
• Banana Runtz
• Berry Gruntz
• Blue Raz Zkittles
• Blue Zkittles
• Blueberry Dream
• Citrus Clouds
• Cosmic Grape
• Gelato 33
• Grandaddy Grape
• Grape Ape
• Gruntz
• Lemonade Haze
• Lunar Lush
• Mai Tai
• Mango Kush
• Maui Melon
• Maui Wowie
• Papaya Og
• Pineapple Express
• Purple Urkle
• Sour Tangie
• Strawberry Kush

What Are The Benefits of Puff Bars?

The three main benefits of Puff Bars are their convenience, low cost and flavour variety. These benefits apply to e-cigarettes made by the Puff Bar brand, as well as e-cigarettes from alternative disposable vape brands such as Elf Bar, Lost Mary and SKE Crystal.

Puff Bars and other disposable vapes are convenient as they come pre-filled and pre-charged and can be used right out of the box with no need for setup or maintenance. This makes them a great vaping option for beginners, as well as for experienced vapers who want a hassle-free device for on-the-go use.

Puff Bars and other disposable vapes are also generally cheaper than reusable devices in the context of upfront cost, making them a good option for people who are on a budget or who are not sure whether vaping is right for them.

Puff Bars and other disposable vapes are available in a wide variety of flavours, which increases the likelihood of a person continuing to vape rather than switching back to smoking cigarettes.

What Are The Drawbacks and Side Effects of Puff Bars?

The two main drawbacks of Puff Bars are their environmental impact and the health risks associated with their use. These drawbacks apply to e-cigarettes made by the Puff Bar brand, as well as e-cigarettes from alternative disposable vape brands such as Elf Bar, Lost Mary and SKE Crystal.

Puff Bars and other disposable vapes are bad for the environment as they contribute to electrical waste at landfills. Mitigation of this environmental drawback is achieved through proper disposal of Puff Bars and other disposable vapes at local recycling facilities that support Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling (WEEE).

Puff Bars and other disposable vapes are likely to result in vaping side effects in some people. Vaping side effects are mostly caused by excessive nicotine consumption and include dry mouth, sore throat, nausea, dizziness, and insomnia. Mitigation of these health risks is achieved by opting for nicotine-free disposable vapes, which reduce the likelihood of experiencing adverse side effects from vaping Puff Bars.

Comparing Puff Bars with Other Brands of Disposable Vapes

Puff Bars are a leading brand in the disposable vape market, but they are not the only option. Brands like Elf Bar, Lost Mary, and SKE Crystal are great cheap disposable vape alternatives to Puff Bar e-cigarettes and feature updated puff counts, designs, and nicotine content.

Puff Bar vs Elf Bar

Elf Bar is a popular disposable vape brand that shares many common features with Puff Bar, focusing on user-friendliness and convenience. Each Elf Bar device comes ready to use, pre-filled with e-liquid and a pre-charged battery.

One of the main differences between Elf Bar and Puff Bar e-cigarettes is the puff count. With a higher e-liquid capacity and a longer-lasting battery, the 600-puff capacity of Elf Bars offers approximately double the 300 puffs of UK equivalent puff bars like the Beco Bar.

The design of Elf Bar devices is another distinguishing factor. These devices have a classic cylindrical body that retains a uniform diameter, tapering at the top into a duckbill-style tip. In contrast, Puff Bars are rectangular in shape and do not have a defined or separate mouthpiece.

The nicotine content of Elf Bars is 0 mg, 10 mg and 20 mg, depending on our chosen flavour, whereas Puff Bars in the USA are nicotine-free, and UK equivalent puff bars like the Beco Bar are limited to 10 mg and 20 mg.