- The first electronic cigarette was invented in 1963
- 60 long years later and the first E-cigarettes were developed
- In 2009 cig-a-like vapes hit the UK market
- In 2014 Tobacco companies started to take notice
- The vape industry faced its first major challenge In 2016
- 2020 saw the rise of Disposable vapes
the first electronic cigarette was invented in 1963 by a gentleman called Herbert A Gilbert, unfortunately, smoking was still widely accepted in the 60’s. Herbert was well ahead of his time and sadly his invention would not take off and none of his devices were ever manufactured.
60 long years later and the first E-cigarettes were developed by a Chinese pharmacist called Hon Lik in 2003. Hon wanted to quit smoking and thought vaping would help him urge his cravings after his father a smoker died of lung cancer.
In 2009 cig-a-like vapes hit the UK market these devices became a massive hit because of their cigarette-like appearance and flavour. E-lites became an iconic brand in the UK, If you are old enough to remember these vapes were everywhere and became an iconic early vape brand, they even had a TV advert which is crazy to think now.
It's the early start of 2010 and the E-cigarette industry is booming, with cigarette-like vapes being sold by retailers across the country, yet vapers wanted more, the cigarette-like devices were convenient to use but flavours were very limited and the devices were not refillable.
In 2014 Tobacco companies started to take notice of the new vaping industry and started to acquire the most popular brands this caused backlash with vapers who had started using these products to quit smoking and were not happy lining the pockets of big tobacco.
This made way for the second generation of vapes, these vapes were much more advanced and unlike the cig-a-like these vapes had tanks which you could refill with e-liquid.
Hobby vaping became very popular people could make their own e-liquids at home and many vapers were experimenting with new flavours coils tanks and mods. This was the start of the vape industry we know today.
The vape industry faced its first major challenge In 2016 when the MHRA created the Tobacco Products Directive. The directive was established to regulate E-cigarettes and who could buy them. Under the legislation tank sizes could be no larger than 2ml with a maximum nicotine strength of 20mg. E-liquid bottle sizes had to change too and were limited to no bigger than 10ml.
The Industry adhered to the new legislation and the vape industry began to mature with new E-liquid manufacturers and brands flooding the market.
2020 saw the rise of Disposable vapes, unlike the first generation of e-cigarettes disposable vapes have come a long way since the early days. These vapes became so popular because they are convenient to use and come in a wide range of flavours and are filled with Nic Salt compared to the freebase nicotine which was used to fill the first generation of e-cigarettes. Nic salt is much smoother than freebase so it means you can vape higher levels of nicotine without the harsh throat hit.
