For many people vaping is a very new concept, but it has actually been around for a bit longer than you think, and the idea has been around for even longer!
Early 1960s
In the early 1960s a man named Herbert A. Gilbert invented the earliest example of an e-cigarette that was inspired by the nebulisers that were routinely used at the time.
He filed a patent for the idea of a ‘non-tobacco cigarette’ that was battery powered and released a vapour of nicotine and ‘flavoured air’. Although the patent was accepted, and the idea was materialised, it was never sold commercially.
Late 1970/Early 1980s
The next person to expand upon this idea was Dr Jacobson who worked on an idea which he referred to as the ‘flavour cigarette’.
Unfortunately, this idea also didn’t take off, although this is not entirely surprising considering that many people were still unaware of how harmful cigarettes could be.
The End of the 20th Century
Towards the end of the 20th Century Lithium Ion batteries were invented, and they meant that electronic items could be made smaller and more compact.
Early 2000s
In 2000 a Chinese pharmacist named Hon Lik started working on the first electronic cigarette that sparked the popularisation of e-cigarettes, and by 2003 he had patented the idea. Come 2004 the Ruyan e-cigarette, e-pipe and e-cigar had gone into mass production in China.
The company that Hon Lik worked for, and is still a chairman for today, began trading under the name Ruyan Group and once 2006 came around the Ruyan V8 e-cigarette became available in multiple different colour options and with a number of different flavour cartridges available, including Virginia, Black Tea and Jasmine.
2007-2008
Vape devices finally made their way round the globe, with countries including the US, Germany and the UK quickly developing a vaping market.
E-cigarettes were not immediately accepted in all countries though, with places like Holland and Australia banning the sale of e-cigarettes.
To this day, there are still some countries where the purchase and use of e-cigarettes is illegal, however, due to the increased understanding and the amount of research and study that has been produced on the matter they have become much more widely accepted.
2010
By 2010 the first vaping convention had been held, well known celebrities had been seen publicly using their e-cigarettes, with celebs like Kathrine Heigl speaking about her support for vaping and how much it has helped her, there had even been e-cigarettes used in TV shows!
At this point vaping has become much more accepted and it’s benefits as a stop smoking aid are being recognised by more and more people.
The market was growing, and some users were finding themselves enjoying vaping as a hobby, with the DIY market for e liquids and rebuildable devices just in it’s infancy.
2016
In early 2016 the UK Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) grew to include e-cigarettes and e-liquids. This meant that the rules and regulations regarding vaping in the UK became much stricter, and some ingredients and flavourings such as Diacetyl, that had been found to be harmful were banned from e-liquids.
These new laws have not had a negative affect on the vaping community in the UK in general, but have made it much safer, better regulated and have helped stop smoking clinics and many health organisations be able to show their support for vaping as a healthier and safer alternative to smoking.
If you would like to try vaping as an alternative to smoking then why not check out our blog posts ‘Switching Made Simple’ and ‘Smoking to Vaping: Everything You Need to Know’ and pop in to your local Evapo vape shop and speak to a member of staff. Alternatively, you can check out our full range of devices and e liquids on our online vape shop.
