This is a question we get asked every day. Seriously.
It’s almost always comes accompanied by its close cousins such as:
Is vaping harmful?
Does it contain tobacco?
Is it safer than smoking?
Vaping: The Definition
Vaping can be defined as the act of inhaling vapor through a personal vaporizer (the vaper’s tobacco-free version of the traditional cigarette). Vaping is an alternative to smoking. It’s like smoking minus several of the adverse effects of the latter: no bad smell and bad breath, no cigarette burns, no more dirty ashtrays, less likelihood of getting cancer and other smoking-affiliated illnesses – you get the drift.
In short, vaping is the name given to the use of a vaporizer. The process involves applying heat to a liquid which generates vapor. The user, called a vaper (smoker in traditional cigarette circles) gets their nicotine hit through inhaling the almost odorless vapor (smoking equivalent of ‘smoke’).
A Quick History Of Vaping
Contrary to what many of us believe, vaping ‘came into being’ as far back as over five decades ago (1960s to be exact). Back then it was not what it is today – but of course. Vaporizers at the time weren’t easy to carry around. They were more of a static, tabletop kind. The big brain behind their invention was Hon Lik, a Chinese pharmacist who took inspiration from the death of his father……Cause? Cancer from smoking. He called this device a Ruyan, which loosely translated means ‘like smoke’. The Ruyan proved to be a hit, and it slowly vaporized its way into the U.S. in the mid-2000s, and hence, vaping was born.
Anatomy of a Vaporizer
The vaporizer is made up of various components.
These are:
Battery: This is the power source and is charged through USB.
Tube/Box: Main console of the vaporizer
Tank: Houses the e-liquid, aka e-juice.
Atomizer: Responsible for heating up the e-liquid and creating vapor that the user inhales and exhales.
E-liquid: Also known as e-juice, this is where the action is. This is a liquid infused with nicotine. It can come plain or in an array of flavors numbering in the hundreds. The e-juice comprises the following ingredients:
Vegetable glycerine and/or propylene glycol
Nicotine (optional)
Flavouring (food grade, natural and/or artificial)
These ingredients get vaporized in the battery-powered atomizer which simulates the experience of smoking.