1930s:
In 1930, a patent was granted to Joseph Robinson for an electric vaporizer that he made for medicinal compounds. His goal was to make it easier to inhale vapors without the possibility of being burned. His device was never commercialized, and It is unclear if the device was manufactured.
1960s:
In 1963, Herbert A. Gilbert patented the first smokeless, non-tobacco cigarette device. He is credited with the creation of the first device that closely resembles the modern-day e-cigarette. His device was thought to be a safe and harmless way of smoking and functioned by replacing burning tobacco and paper with heated flavored air. Although he obtained a patent and created prototypes, he was never able to commercialize his product.
1980s-1990s
Throughout these years, there were many attempts to create e-cigarettes and many patents for nicotine inhaler devices were filed, with a lot of activity in the 1990s. Products that closely resembled modern e-cigarettes moved to commercialization in the 1990s.
2003-2007
In 2003, Hon Lik, a Chinese pharmacist, created the first commercially successful e-cigarette. He invented the device as a safer way to inhale nicotine after his father, a heavy smoker, died of lung cancer. Shortly after, he introduced e-cigarettes to the Chinese market.
In 2006, vaping was introduced in Europe and shortly after, in 2007, e-cigarettes were introduced to the American market.
References
Bellis, M. (2019, January 27). History and Function of the Electronic Cigarette. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/who-invented-electronic-cigarettes-1991598
Brueck, H. (2019, November 15). The wild history of vaping, from a 1927 ‘electric vaporizer’ to today’s mysterious lung injury crisis. Retrieved from https://www.insider.com/history-of-vaping-who-invented-e-cigs-2019-10#but-lik-like-many-others-has-become-a-dual-user-he-still-smokes-cigarettes-and-he-vapes-now-too-9
Burger, J. (2018, October 8). Hon Lik: The Man Who Invented Vaping: blu. Retrieved from https://blu-blog.azurewebsites.net/2016/07/07/hon-lik-man-invented-vaping/?lang=us.
Historical Timeline of Electronic Cigarettes. (2019, November 18). Retrieved from http://www.casaa.org/historical-timeline-of-electronic-cigarettes/
The History of E-cigarettes: Electronic Cigarettes the Past, Present and Future: CE Course. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dentalcare.com/en-us/professional-education/ce-courses/ce451/the-history-of-e-cigarettes
