The authorities are cracking down hard on Elf Bar distributors

The Elf Bar is a battery-powered, disposable device that simulates smoking, pre-filled with nicotine or nicotine-free liquid, available in several flavors. It has become popular, especially among young people, due to its simple use and compact packaging. Although due to the effective operation of the anti-Elf Bar coalition, its sales in the vicinity of public areas and schools have declined, despite this, it is repeatedly recommended for purchase in online advertisements, on various, mainly foreign, websites and social media platforms.

Last summer, the Economic Competition Authority launched a parallel investigation against two Slovak online stores, which sold e-cigarettes and Elf Bar products, which are popular among minors and therefore particularly dangerous, on their Hungarian-language websites. After the initiation of the investigations, the competition authority acted immediately to protect domestic consumers in both cases: using the temporary measure, it immediately ordered the online stores to be shut down until the cases were concluded. The first of the procedures ended with the imposition of the highest possible fine at the end of last year, while a decision has just been made in the case of the other online store. The investigation revealed that the company also deceptively gave Hungarian consumers the impression that its products could be sold legally.