The electric cigarette originated in China in 2003, invented by Hon Lik, a heavy smoker who searched for a way to reduce the risk and harm of smoking tobacco. With the success of e-cigarettes in Asian markets, the e-cig was introduced to smokers in the United Kingdom. Inhaling nicotine vapours became very popular in the U.K. Soon the use of elecronic cigarettes became legal in places such as pubs where traditional smoking was banned. E-cigs grew in popularity when introduced to the American market as well.

An electric cigarette is a device that looks like a cigarette, inhales like a cigarette but is quite different from a traditional cigarette. Rather than inhaling smoke with all its chemicals and tars, e-cigarette users inhale the nicotine vapour produced by the device. When a vaper, as e-cigarette users are called, inhales on an e-cig, electronic circuits inside the device are activated and nicotine is vapourized and inhaled. When the vaper exhales, vapour that resembles smoke is released from the lungs. The entire process simulates smoking.

The white end of the e-cig contains a lithium battery. The brown end holds a cartridge that contains a liquid composed of nicotine, propylene glycol and an atomiser. When a user inhales on the e-cig, circuits in the battery activate the atomiser, which heats the liquid nicotine and produces vapour. E-cigarettes remain in standby mode until the next inhale.

A 2010 study published in the Journal of Public Health reported that e-cigarettes are far safer than traditional cigarettes. Only trace elements, if any, of the over 10,000 chemicals in tobacco appear in electric cigarette vapours. Of the known carcinogens in tobacco, none are present in either the cartridge or vapour of e-cigarettes. Without all the chemicals and tar in traditional smoking, e-cigarettes provide a dose of nicotine that pleases e-cig users, while reducing the harm associated with tobacco use. Vapers using e-cigs report feeling healthier, with little or reduced smoker’s cough, that exercise is easier and their sense of smell and taste improved.

E-cigarettes present a positive step in tobacco harm reduction. The big danger in traditional cigarette smoking is the smoke, both for smokers and those around them. With e cigarettes, vapour rather than smoke delivers the nicotine, removing the danger. E-cig vapers can “smoke” in a pub or restaurant, and while exhaled vapour looks like smoke, it is not. Last by not least, vaping e-cigarettes costs much less money over time.