U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer Speaks At Fulton Junior High School, Pushes Legislation To Ban Elf Bar Vaping Tools

FULTON – U.S Senator Charles Schumer visited the Fulton Junior High School Tuesday, April 4, discussing plans to take federal action against the latest, highly addictive e-cigarette/vape called “Elf Bar”; a product that primarily targets minors and adolescents and is rapidly gaining ground in the FCSD and the Central New York area.

The nicotine filled, Chinese-made product offers flavors such as Blue Razz Ice, Strawberry Sundae, Cotton Candy and Watermelon Bubble Gum to name a few; the company offering a myriad of kid-centered flavors to draw in a younger audience.

Attendees at Tuesdays event included Fulton Mayor Deanna Michaels, several members of the Oswego County Legislature, County Administrator Phil Church, County Legislator Laurie Mangano representing Will Barclay’s office, State Senator John Manion, FCSD Superintendent Brian Pulvino, County Public Health Director Vera Dunsmore, North Syracuse Central School District Superintendent Daniel Bowles, speaker G. Ray Bodley High School Junior Harper Ells, as well as many other Oswego County officials and organizations.

Fulton High School junior Harper Ells speaking at Tuesday’s event. Photo by Shea Hartranft.
Schumer referred to the Chinese manufacturing process which makes the Elf Bar more dangerous than the former Juul vaping product “because of its shoddy manufacturing and its commonly mislabeled nicotine levels;” also pointing out the discrepancies in product safety and consumer protection standards.

The Senator also referred to the company’s calculating and undermining social media advertising platforms; campaigns that purposefully target young people on Tik Tok and other social media outlets using celebrities who encourage the products use. Schumer said “[the] advertising campaigns likely evade FDA rules.”

The Senator is calling for an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to inspect and scrutinize the sale of these highly addictive and damaging Elf Bars, and to be prepared to ban them to protect kids.

Acording to the Fulton Central School District, Elf Bars made up more than 60 of the 88 cases of vaping by children recorded this school year alone. Fulton schools have already confiscated more e-cigarettes in the first three months of 2023 than they did during the same time period a year ago; and teachers and administrators expect that trend to continue to grow. In Oswego County, almost 15% of all students’ report using an e-cigarette at least once a month.

“Too many of our students are impacted by nicotine vaping addiction. It is disruptive to their learning and likely to adversely affect their health into adulthood. It also has a negative impact on our school culture,” Pulvino said. “We appreciate Majority Leader Schumer’s efforts to keep these devices from reaching our children, including the Elf Bar devices, which have become more prevalent in our schools in recent months.”

Fulton Mayor Deanna Michaels speaking at Tuesdays event. Photo by Shea Hartranft.
Schumer said CNY teachers are confiscating these Elf Bars nearly every day. In nearby Onondaga County, school officials have recorded hundreds of nicotine vaping incidents, including many incidents involving Elf Bars at all five of the Syracuse City School District’s high schools.

“Across TV and newspapers, Elf Bar doesn’t seem to exist, but ask any young person or teen and they’ll tell you, it’s the hottest thing and all over their social media newsfeeds. On TikTok alone, the Elf Bar has 1.76 billion views, and that is advertising. The FDA must scour the social sites to hold Elf Bar to account as we push every enforcement action available, from FDA to DOJ,” Schumer said. “The bottom-line here is that the FDA must clear the smoke of Elf Bar & investigate before it becomes ‘Juul 2.0 for our kids in Central NY.”

Schumer is calling for an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to inspect and scrutinize the sale of these highly addictive and damaging Elf Bars, and to be prepared to ban them to protect our kids.

Schumer noted teachers across Central New York school districts are confiscating Elf Bars almost every day. Onondaga County school officials have recorded hundreds of nicotine vaping incidents at all five Syracuse City School District high schools.

“Across TV and newspapers – Elf Bar doesn’t seem to exist; but ask any young person or teen and they’ll tell you it’s the hottest thing and all over their social media newsfeeds,” Schumer said. “On TikTok alone the Elf Bar has 1.76 billion views, and that is advertising. The FDA must scour the social sites to hold Elf Bar to account as we push every enforcement action available, from FDA to DOJ. The bottom line here is that the FDA must clear the smoke of Elf Bar & investigate before it becomes ‘Juul 2.0’ for our kids in Central NY.”

Bowles addressed vaping occurring within his school district, and districts throughout Central New York, addressing the fact that change is needed.

“Superintendents around the area have seen an increase in the amount of vaping that is taking place in the last few years. When meeting with student groups, students have told us that vaping is increasing amongst their friends because it is so easy to conceal and obtain,” Bowles said. “Students want interventions in place to stop the epidemic of vaping because their friends admit that they are not able to stop once they get started vaping.”

Michaels spoke about the growing danger e-cigarettes and vaping are having on the community, saying she reached out to her son who attends college to get information on Elf Bars, something she had never heard of before being contacted by Senator Schumer’s office.

“I’m not surprised that I learned about another product that’s in our community now, that’s a danger to our kids, because that’s what continues to happen. Right when we think we have a good grasp of what’s happening, a new product is introduced. It’s scary,” Michaels said.  “I reached out to my son who’s in college and I said to him, “what’s this Elf Bar?” He said, “that’s been going around – that took over Juul. It’s sweet and tasty – it tastes good to the kids, and I guarantee you – you check any of their backpacks and they have it. It’s easy to get, and it’s all over Tik Tok.”

Michaels also thanked Schumer for addressing the problem head on with aggressive action.

“Thank you to Senator Schumer’s office for bringing this to our attention and allowing us to get behind yet another fight as we continue to fight the problem that we know is here.”

Ray Bodley High School junior Harper Ells spoke, pointing to the problems and dangers many students are facing as they become involved and ultimately addicted to the Elf Bars; including crowding in school bathrooms to vape between classes, obtaining the highly addictive nicotine products from family and friends, and the health issues that come from participating in vaping.

“I personally know that our school struggles a lot with vaping. But beyond that, our community – this county; they’re easily able to access these vapes, whether it be themselves [or] through parents [and] friends; they’re able to access these and it needs to stop,” Ells said. “I know our school is trying very, very hard to try and help these students to try and stop all of this vaping that’s happening in the schools, but there needs to be something else that needs to be done. And I know that as a student it’s very difficult to see all of this happening…I mean with the addiction – the health effects that so many kids are having. And it keeps dropping in age; so many younger kids are getting addicted to something that should not be affecting them at this age. And it becomes really difficult to see that.”

Below is a copy of the letter Schumer sent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asking for an investigation into the alarming use, and unethical targeting of youth in the promotion and sale of Elf Bars dangerous products:

A copy of Schumer’s letter to the FDA appears below. 

Dear Commissioner Califf:

 I write to ask that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) use its full resources and authorities to investigate, take actions against and be prepared to pull from the market the disposable e-cigarette brand, Elf Bar. The youth vaping epidemic remains at concerning levels and I am worried that with the rise of companies like Elf Bar, who offer cheap, colorful, and sweet disposable e-cigarettes, that we could see this crisis reach new heights. The FDA has a proud history of working to support the nation’s public health and I commend your agency’s recent actions to take on the youth e-cigarette crisis, but now is not a time to rest on one’s laurels. 

 In particular, there are two particularly concerning issues regarding Elf Bar. First, Elf Bar’s social media marketing tactics appear to be targeted at underage audiences and they must be investigated. Second, the company’s manufacturing supply chain could be putting consumers at risk of serious health problems. 

 As you know, synthetic nicotine is created in a laboratory rather than derived from tobacco leaves. Products like Elf Bar’s disposable vapes, are being advertised as “tobacco-free alternatives” and labeled as synthetic nicotine. However, these alternative shares one glaring similarity: synthetic nicotine still contains nicotine. Nicotine is a severe concern as it is a highly addictive substance that research suggests is as addictive as illicit drugs including heroin or cocaine. Of further issue, nicotine is shown to impact youth brain development, putting at risk a young person’s memory, attention levels, and ability to learn. 

 Featuring flavors like rainbow candy, apple beach, blue razz ice, cotton candy, and vanilla ice cream wrapped up in colorful, disposable packaging, it is no surprise that Elf Bar has fast become popular among young people. Similarly enticing, Elf Bar products are ubiquitous on social media apps through posts marked as ads as well as prominently displayed in the content of social media influencers.

Popular influencers can be seen glamorizing their Elf Bar e-cigarettes on Instagram and TikTok, two apps primarily used by America’s impressionable youth. Considering the impact on our youth and teens, the FDA must immediately investigate Elf Bar’s use of paid social media advertising and their relationships with social media influencers who market their synthetic nicotine products to minors.

 In addition to an investigation on Elf Bar’s social media marketing tactics, I call on the FDA to look into Elf Bar’s manufacturing supply chain. There have been numerous reports detailing counterfeit Elf Products that have hit the market, which have caused consumer harm. 

 FDA regulators cannot rely on modern day tobacco barons to regulate themselves. Given the major concerns around Elf Bar’s overall effect on children, its marketing tactics and its supply chain issues, FDA must use all its authority to investigate and act against Elf Bar. 

 Considering the risks at play and the health of our Nation’s children, I ask that the FDA prioritize this issue immediately. The nation is counting on your leadership to protect them from harmful products and deceitful marketing tactics.