Electronic cigarettes were first patented in 1963 by Herbert A. Gilbert, an American amateur inventor. He described his invention as a “smokeless non-tobacco cigarette”. It worked by generating a flavoured nicotine vapour which the user inhaled instead of tobacco smoke. The device, however, was never marketed to the public as no company could be found willing to manufacture the smokeless cigarette. It must be remembered that this was the heyday of smoking in the United States and many other industrialised countries, and few people knew about the negative health consequences of smoking.

The e-cigarette that we use today is the brainchild of a Chinese pharmacist named Hon Lik. He started developing the product in 2003 when his father, a heavy smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer and died soon thereafter. Lik was also a heavy smoker and wanted to create a healthy alternative to smoking. He founded a company named Golden Dragon Holdings which conducted research and development, and after a number of promising product tests, the company decided to market the electronic cigarette to the public. The company’s name was also changed to Ruyan which translates as “like smoke” in Chinese.

Since then, the e-cigarette has become immensely popular and has been bought by millions of people around the world to help them and their loved ones quit smoking. Scientific research has demonstrated that the electronic cigarette is the most effective smoking cessation aid available on the market.