The history of electronic cigarette – how did it evolve?

Science and technology in our time have far stepped in before and it is time that even ordinary things like cigarettes have to be replaced with newer and improved analogues. The history of electronic cigarettes began not so long ago. It has about 10 years. Over this period of time, they strongly strengthened in the world market and became serious competitors to tobacco corporations

Today’s electronic cigarette was created and mass produced in 2003 in China, but was it the first ever e-cigarette?

The answer is no, the first documented e-cigarette is referenced to Joseph Robinson of United States, in the 1930s. But there is no specific evidence that this technology was introduced or at least one prototype of an e-cigarette was manufactured.

First inventions of e=cigarette

Thus, for the first time, the physical origin of the electronic cigarette was laid in 1965 in the US by Herbert A. Gilbert, certain parts of the technology which were patented by him. His product did not become popular and did not find a wide response. He also failed to taste the fruits of his patent, because he was much ahead of his time, while his invention was very similar to the modern e-cigarette. The validity of patents expired long before electronic cigarettes were widely distributed in the market.

In 1979, Phil Ray, one of the pioneers of the computer industry, in collaboration with his personal physician began developing an electronic cigarette that could conquer the market (although in reality, this cigarette was not at all electronic – it was based on the method of evaporation of nicotine). As a result, there was also the first scientific work on the possible filing of nicotine.

In 1990-200, many studies and tests were conducted to develop an electronic cigarette but they failed. Equipment and technologies also did not allow achieving the desired result, however, during these studies, a new technology and the concept of not burning heat, which is currently used, was developed.

At the same time, a major American tobacco campaign filed an application with the FDA for the development of an electronic cigarette (nicotine dispenser) and its introduction into the market. However, at that time, the FDA regulated the so-called. a drug delivery device not associated with tobacco, so a response was obtained that the idea was too similar to the drug delivery device and the granting of this permission was denied. This actually turned out to be a promissory note, which for a certain time slowed down the further development of the electronic cigarette in the US.

Return to modern days

So we return to 2003 when the first successfully installed electronic cigarette was launched on the market. It happened in China, in Beijing, and its author was a 52-year-old pharmacist, inventor and smoker Khon Lik. At that time, he was a regular staff member of a large pharmaceutical company Golden Drahon Holding. Father Khon was a malicious smoker, which eventually died. Overcoming the horrible and painful time of illness and withdrawal from his father's life, Khon set a goal: to invent a device that can partially or completely protect a smoker from the harmful effects of cigarette smoke, ideally such a device could help get rid of smoking, as he was haunted by the idea of allowing smokers, smoking in places where smoking is prohibited, while not breaking the law and not disturbing surrounding people.

What led their development to the kind in which we used to see them, they became much more compact and virtually indistinguishable from simple tobacco cigarettes. Nowadays, anyone can choose an electronic cigarette to their taste; the current e-cigarettes are inherent in any colour and shape.

The popularity did not miss Australia either, people in big cities like Sydney are quickly changing their smoking habits and getting into e-cigarettes. In short, bongs are not dead, they are still very popular.

If you want to know more about e-cigarettes, here is an article we have on them.