As much as vaping can feel like a modern fad, the idea of an e-cigarette is one that goes back a long way – as people have long been looking for ways to mitigate the more negative impacts of cigarettes.
Not all of these initial attempts were successful or beloved by enough of a general audience to get off the ground or appeal to people in the same way that cigarettes have for so long. That being said, time has allowed for more and more contenders to enter the fray, and the e-cigarette scene today is a very different one from what it was twenty years ago.
Early Efforts
These early efforts go back farther than you might expect – with the earliest patent dating back to 1965. This can be interesting to learn due to how it fits in with the image of smoking being popular throughout the 20th century, with the health impacts not becoming so commonly known until closer to the 21st. This does indeed show that there has been interest in an alternative for some time – though the reasons might not have been the same as they would be today, nor would the public interest have been as high as it is today.
Modern Demand and Capabilities
With that demand increasing and with the relevant technology improving, it’s no surprise that recent years have seen an explosion of efforts here. What can be interesting to examine is just how much these efforts can vary – one early design famously replicated the look of a pre-rolled cigarette, attempting to retain as much of the iconography and experience as possible.
As time went on, the focus seemed to become more about making e-cigarettes stand alone – giving them a sleek and recognizable design that provided a more modern connotation than what you might have expected from smoking. It’s looking ahead, and that can be seen from how brands like Juul styled themselves or by perusing the best ecigs from Smoko, showcasing the variety on display as well.
What’s Next?
Health consciousness is arguably something that’s on the rise, and it’s also something that can be thought of as contrasting directly with the perception of cigarettes. Therefore, it’s natural to expect this gulf between cigarettes and their electronic counterparts to grow.
In fact, with many countries considering or even implementing a ban on selling cigarettes in efforts to phase them out entirely, e-cigarettes look to become the only option for those looking along those lines. There is a lot of support to indicate that vaping is healthier than smoking, too, which can help along in this decision. With e-cigarettes only having four ingredients compared to the 4,000 chemicals and 50 known carcinogens of cigarettes, the choice might not be too difficult for some.
That being said, it’s difficult to tell how technology will develop in the future or how it will pertain to e-cigarettes, but as the culture around smoking and vaping evolves, the relevant technology will likely go wherever the consumer interest does.
