Electronic cigarettes were a product a long time in the making, with many architects. The concept dates in a serious way to the 1920s; the first patents were issued to American inventor Henry A. Gilbert in the mid-1960s; in the late 1990s, former NASA engineer and microprocessor pioneer Phil Ray experimented with a new, non-smoking technology. Although Ray’s efforts didn’t go anywhere commercially, they did deliver the word “vape” to the lexicon.
The big breakthrough arrived 15 years ago. It was achieved by a Chinese chemist named Hon Lik, whose motivations were a combination of intellectual curiosity and entrepreneurial rewards -- and human welfare. Cigarette smoking had hastened his father’s death. Hon Lik had a heavy tobacco habit himself, and was experimenting with ways to quit.
Essential Reading
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Bottom Line: Vaping-associated acute lung injury shows nonspecific injury patterns. Regardless of the fundamental pattern of injury seen, some symptoms are universally present, somet...
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Bottom Line: The use of nicotine e-cigarettes in addition to nicotine patches results in three to seven additional smokers quitting long-term per 100 versus those who use patches alo...
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Bottom Line: This study found that electronic cigarette (EC) use and decreased smoking were directly correlated both in terms of cigarettes smoked per day and smoking cessation. This...
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Bottom Line: Current users of e-cigarettes are far more likely to perceive e-cigarettes as less harmful than cigarettes and beneficial for quitting smoking, compared with former and ...
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