Le grand public a découvert la cigarette électronique en 2013, dont le concept inédit a rapidement rassemblé une grande partie des fumeurs souhaitant se sevrer de la cigarette traditionnelle. Toutefois, la e-cigarette est bien plus vieille que l’on ne le croit et a déployé lors de nombreuses années un effort considérable pour faire ses premiers pas sur le marché.
The history of the electronic cigarette
A first draft concept
Let's take a little leap in time. It's 1963, and Herbert Gilbert is creating a brand new device for smokeless and tobacco-free cigarettes. His idea is to make a cigarette without paper or tobacco and allowing to produce hot and flavored air. Two years later, he filed his patent. Despite interest from some investors, his product will not be marketed.
And the engineer created... the first electronic cigarette device...
Several years passed, and it was not until the 2000s that the first electronic cigarette device was introduced. Himself a heavy smoker, it is Hon Lik, an engineer and former Chinese pharmacist who will launch this cigarette system on the market. His goal? To design a product mimicking the gestures of the smoker and reproducing a vapor without combustion much less toxic than the smoke propelled by the tobacco of the cigarette. After five years of development, Hon Lik registered his patent. Somewhat different from the current e-cigarette, its concept is based on a technology of ultrasonic vaporization. This system consists in exploiting the ultrasounds emitted by a piezoelectric actuator, in order to vaporize a liquid rich in propylene glycol and nicotine.
One year before the patent was filed, in 2004, his product was put on sale on the Chinese market thanks to Hon Lik's association with Golden Dragon Holdings. This company quickly decided to change its name to Ruyan, which means "cigarette" in Mandarin, to become Dragonite International Limited in 2010.
The first steps of the modern e-cigarette
Following the marketing of the first generation e-cigarette by Hon Lik, a number of patents have been filed. In 2009, a Chinese doctor named David Yungiang Xiu, offers a second-generation electronic cigarette under the name "Electronic Nicotine Delivery System". The principle? A vaporization by heating resistance. Today, the market for the vape continues to diversify with e-cigarettes increasingly sophisticated, and it is not likely to stop.
Electronic Cigarette Glossary >
Tips and tricks for using the Electronic Cigarette and E-liquid
Frequently asked questions about the electronic cigarette
Which electronic cigarette for which smoking profile? >
Is the electronic cigarette more harmful than tobacco? >
Can I quit smoking with the electronic cigarette? >
Can I use my electronic cigarette on a plane? >
What pg/vg ratio should I choose for my e-liquid? >
Can I mix e-liquids? >
Nicotine salt, what you need to know >
Our brands in the category E-cigarette









