The modern vape was invented in 2003 by Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik, but the concept of a “smokeless, non-tobacco cigarette” dates back to a patent filed in 1963.
While the commercially successful electronic cigarette that sparked the global vaping phenomenon was developed by Hon Lik, the idea of an alternative to traditional cigarettes had been explored decades earlier.
In 1963, an American named Herbert A. Gilbert filed a patent for a “smokeless non-tobacco cigarette.” His invention aimed to replace burning tobacco and paper with heated, moist, and flavored air. However, Gilbert’s device was never commercialized and his patent eventually expired.
Decades later, Hon Lik, a Chinese pharmacist and smoker, was motivated to find a less harmful alternative to cigarettes after his father died of lung cancer. His invention, which used a piezoelectric ultrasound-emitting element to vaporize a nicotine-containing liquid, was patented in 2003. The first commercial electronic cigarettes based on his design were manufactured in China in 2004 by the company Ruyan.
These early models were introduced to European and American markets between 2006 and 2007, laying the groundwork for the vast and diverse vaping industry that exists today. While Hon Lik is credited with inventing the first commercially successful vape, it is worth noting a much earlier, unrealized patent by Joseph Robinson in 1927 for a “Mechanical Butane Ignition Vaporizer.”