A short history of vaping

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Although vaping in the modern sense has really only been around since 2002, vaping actually has a very ancient history.

The Ancient Egyptians used hot stones to vape concoctions of herbs in order to cleanse the mind, cure disease and induce a religious state. People in the Middle East and India have vaped shisha for thousands of years, and there are many parallels in traditional medicine across the world.

Understanding these ancient techniques inspired modern thinkers to consider the idea of vaping instead of smoking. The first e-cigarette was actually conceived back in 1927, by a man named Joseph Robinson who was granted a patent. Robinson’s device was never commercialised.

In 1963, Herbert A Gilbert filed a patent (which was awarded in 1965) for a “smokeless non-tobacco cigarette”. He created prototypes, but also never commercialized his idea. It’s likely there wasn’t seen to be much commercial potential at the time (how wrong those naysayers turned out to be!)

Then, in 1979, computer pioneer Phil Ray started to experiment with a commercial variation of an e-cigarette alongside his physician Norman Jacobson. Their research is regarded as the first in the world on vaping for nicotine delivery, and they introduced us to the word “vape”. Ray’s device was sold by major retailers, but was inherently faulty and couldn’t overcome the popularity of cigarettes.

Meanwhile, in Europe, vaping was becoming popular mainly for use with marijuana. “Eagle” Bill Amato invented the cannabis vaporizer in the 90s, and they became popular in places like Amsterdam where cannabis use was legal.

The inventor of the modern e-cigarette

A Chinese pharmacist and inventor named Hon Lik registered a patent for the first modern e-cigarette in 2003. Lik’s father died of lung cancer in 2001, and he decided to quit smoking in order to avoid the same fate. The idea occurred to him of vaporizing a jet of liquid containing nicotine to create a vapor that reminded a person of smoke. Right from the beginning Lik intended his invention to be an alternative to smoking.

Lik’s first device – the Ruyan e-cigar – launched in China in 2004, and were sold over the internet and made their way into the US and Europe. Exporting by Lik’s company started in 2006-7, and that’s when other manufacturers started to create new designs (some copying Lik illegally) and we started to see an upswing in the popularity of e-cigarettes.

2007 was when British entrepreneurs Tariq and Umer Sheikh invented the carboniser, common in most cigalike brands, and by 2008 mods were starting to appear on the market.

At first, tobacco companies saw vaping as a passing fad, but now they see a real threat to their industry, which is why they can be aggressive in acquiring manufacturers and companies and releasing their own vaping products.

Now, we have a worldwide community of passionate vapers who are quitting smoking and decreasing their reliance on nicotine thanks to vaping. We’re proud to be a part of this community and to produce high-quality e-juices that meet the demand for a quality vaping experience.

Head over to NZVAPOR website to try our range of quality e-juices made in a Grade 5 ISO-accredited lab.

NV JUICE is a premium blended e-liquid range which offers the full, complex flavours of real cigarettes, fruits and sweets, or other flavours you might have chosen, and our VAPEJUICE range caters to the high VG, experienced vaper who likes to blow big, flavoursome clouds.

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