Characterising ‘Spree Bar’: an examination of the popularity, marketing and composition of a vaping device with a nicotine analogue across multiple data streams

BACKGROUND: Spree Bar, a line of e-cigarette devices introduced in 2023, leverages 6-methylnicotine (6-MN) as its primary ingredient and is available in nine flavours, each represented by artificial intelligence (AI)-generated avatars. AIMS: To characterise the popularity (via social media analysis and survey data), content (nicotine, nicotine analogues, common flavouring chemicals) and marketing strategy (product avatars and flavour descriptions created by the company on its website and Instagram) of Spree Bar. RESULTS: Publicly available secondary data (Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health, National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), International Tobacco Control (ITC) Youth survey) have not captured any reported use of Spree Bar. Social media observations revealed little public discussion of Spree Bar, aside from activity surrounding news stories. Chemical analysis confirmed that Spree Bar did not contain nicotine and that the levels of 6-MN were significantly lower than claimed (approximately 0.3% vs 5%). Wilkinson Sword (WS)-23, a synthetic coolant, was present in all varieties, regardless of nominal flavour. Linguistic analysis of Spree Bar promotional text from their novel marketing strategy indicates very little difference in language used across avatars or nominal flavours. CONCLUSIONS: There is limited evidence of widespread uptake of Spree Bar to date. However, its marketing approach and striking mislabeling and coolant ubiquity underscore the need for regulatory vigilance.