Vaping: The Smoke of the Future

You may have heard the term vaping or vaporizer in the past year or two and may be wondering why. It isn’t just a thing of the present, vaporizers have been around in various forms since the 1960s though back then they were more of a tabletop item unlike today’s pocket able devices. The modern vaporizer (also known as e-cigarette) was first created by a Chinese pharmacist named Han Lik who found his inspiration after his father died of cancer. He called the device Ruyan meaning Smoke in his homeland and it became a hit. This new device was introduced in the US in the mid-2000s.

So what is “vaping”? Vaping is simply just applying heat to a liquid which creates vapor. The vapor is created and is breathed in. There are hundreds even thousands of varieties of e-cigarettes these days. You may have seen cigarette shaped ones in common stores such as seven-eleven or mall kiosks, but the market has evolved to much more. The traditional disposable vapes seem like child’s play compared to what is being called a “mod” or mechanical vape pen today. Mod’s are simply pens on steroids, the battery is much larger and in different sizes, there are possible temperature and voltage customizations, and much more including colors and shapes of your mod. The whole point of a Mod is to product more vapor, increase the throat hit, and increases the flavor of the e-juice you are using. Now where would you get yourself one of these mods? It is actually quite easy, so easy that you could walk to 8^th and Washington and buy one in 15 minutes. The vapor culture has created this new type of store called “vaporiums” which supply the user with their customizable mod to their liking and whatever else they need. These vaporiums are also made for their users to refill on their “e-liquids”. What is an “e-liquid” or “e-juice” you may ask? These liquids are simply a combination of propylene glycol (PG) or vegetable glycerin (VG), artificial flavors, and the level of nicotine of your choice with levels ranging from 0mg to as high as 24mg, the average pack of cigarettes contains about 20mg per box. In these vaporiums you are able to get your supplies and even test hands on (or should I say lungs on) with an enormous variety of flavors. Not just your average flavors like tobacco or menthol, I’m talking about flavors like green jolly rancher, captain crunch cereal, banana bread, unicorns milk, the list goes on.

Today the industry is growing more than ever. Revenues in 2013 reached about $1.5 billion, 2015 is projecting about $5 billion in revenue, and by 2017 revenues are projected to reach about $10 billion. The vape industry is growing but nothing has been proved that it is better for your health than cigarettes since the technology is so new. Although it seems healthier than breathing in a vapor instead of a combustible plant nothing has been proven yet. Research is already in the making and I am looking forward to seeing the results in the future of this new form of smoking.