According to Vaping360, e-cigarette brands Elf Bar and Lost Mary will withdraw dessert, candy and soft drink flavored disposable e-cigarette products from the UK market.
These brands account for more than half of disposable e-cigarette sales in the UK, according to data firm Nielsen. They belong to Chinese company Shenzhen iMiracle Technology, and it's unclear whether the Chinese company will remove the flavors in other markets.
Elf Bar has stopped selling bubblegum and marshmallow-flavored gummy bears in the UK and has renamed the gummy bears "Gami", the BBC reported.
The decision is aimed at curbing claims that popular e-cigarettes are marketed to young people, as fear of vaping among teenagers has increased over the past few years.
In October last year, Japanese Prime Minister Rishi Sunak proposed changing e-cigarette laws. A public consultation is currently underway to determine what action to take.
“Introducing such a system will reduce children’s exposure to e-cigarettes and make it easier for authorities to regulate the sale of e-cigarette devices. Additionally, we believe it will help combat the growing illegal e-cigarette market and drive e-cigarette recycling rates improvement."
The Counterfactual's Clive Bates questioned whether the move would silence the company's critics. "Their critics will take this to be an admission of guilt in principle and then work outward from that principle," he said.
