How Vapes Were Invented: The Full Story Behind Modern Vaping

The story of vaping is a story of innovation - a journey from early experiments to sleek, modern Vapor devices that have transformed how millions experience flavor and convenience.

I. Before 2003: Early Concepts of Vaporizers 🕰️

• In 1927, American Joseph Robinson applied for the first patent for an electric vaporizer, claiming that the invention could atomize medications, making it easier for people to inhale vapor without any possibility of burns. However, Robinson did not bring his patent to market.

Although Joseph Robinson's electric vaporizer wasn't designed for tobacco, it may have inspired Herbert A. Gilbert's later design of a “smokeless, non-tobacco vapor cigarette”.

• In 1963, American worker Herbert A. Gilbert applied for a patent for an electronic smoking device. His smokeless cigarette design claimed to use heated, humid, and flavorful air instead of paper and burning tobacco.
• In 1965, Gilbert's research patent (US Patent 3200819) was officially approved. At the time, the tobacco industry was booming 🚬.
• In 1964, the average American smoked 4,400 cigarettes, totaling 350 billion cigarettes annually. Unfortunately, Gilbert's invention was too advanced for its time. Although companies were willing to invest, there was no market demand, and it ultimately failed to be commercialized.

II. 2003–2009: The First Commercialized Vape 💨

• In 2003, Hon Lik applied for and obtained an invention patent for a “non-combustible electronic atomized cigarette”. He subsequently founded a company to commercialize it, branding it “Ruyan”. Hon Lik is widely regarded as the inventor of the first generation of vapes.

• 2004: Hon Lik pioneered the mass production and international sales, renaming Jinlong Holdings to Ruyan Technology.

• 2005: Ruyan Technology began exporting vape products overseas.

• December 2006: Jinlong Group acquired the vape business from Hon Lik, one of its shareholders.

• November 2007: Jinlong Group announced its name change to Ruyan Group, with market capitalization reaching nearly HK$120 billion 💰.

• 2008: Ruyan's sales reached RMB 1 billion, with global sales exceeding 300,000 units.

However, Ruyan's success was short-lived ⏳. Starting in 2008, the company faced public pressure in China due to advertising issues, and the financial crisis hindered overseas development. By 2009, Ruyan suffered a loss of RMB 444 million.

• In 2013, after four consecutive years of losses, Ruyan was acquired by Imperial Tobacco for $75 million, including vape-related patents. Hon Lik also served as an R&D consultant at Fontem Ventures, a vape company under Imperial Tobacco.

III. 2003–2018: The Rapid Expansion of the vapor Industry 🚀

Continuing from the previous section, as the saying goes, “when a whale falls, everything comes to life,” although vapes were a fleeting phenomenon, the commercialization of e-cigarettes gave birth to a highly resilient industry.

🌍 The Explosion of the European and American Vape Consumer Market

• In 2005, Ruyan Technology began exporting its vape products overseas; in 2006, vapes began to be sold and used in Europe; and in 2007, after gaining popularity in the European market, vapes quickly entered the US market.

⚖️ Regulatory Turbulence in the U.S. Market

• In September 2008, the WHO announced that it did not consider vapes to be the most effective smoking cessation aid 🚭. Following this, US regulations on vapes tightened.
• In March 2009, the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) regulated vapes as medical devices, banning their import, which hindered industry development and slowed market growth 📉.
• In April 2009, Smoking Everywhere filed a lawsuit in federal court, arguing that vapes were tobacco products and that the FDA had no jurisdiction ⚖️.
• In late 2010, a federal district court and the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals ruled against the FDA, stipulating that the FDA could only regulate vapes as tobacco products.

The following year, the FDA announced it would regulate vapes under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 🏛️.

🏭 China’s Manufacturing Boom: Shenzhen Takes the Lead

Following the FDA's defeat in 2010, the US vape market opened up 🚀.

Leveraging its advantages in electronics and foreign trade supply chains, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, saw a rapid rise of vapor contract manufacturers, taking on a large number of orders from overseas markets, especially the US.

This led to the gradual formation of a vape industry cluster in the Songgang and Shajing areas of Bao'an District, Shenzhen 🏙️.

Many established vape companies were founded between 2009 and 2013.
UGOVAPOR stores serve as the official sales channels for VOOPOO (a long-established e-cigarette company) and its sister brands (ZOVOO, NEXA, SUONON), providing 100% genuine vape products directly from manufacturers at affordable M2C prices 💨.

By 2014, China had over 2,000 vape factories, producing 90% of the world's vapes 🌏.

This level has remained consistent since then, with approximately:

• 50% of products sold to the US 🇺🇸

• 1/3 of products sold to Europe 🇪🇺

💰 Why Vapes Rose So Quickly: High Profits & High Repurchase Rates

Based on various sources, there are two main reasons driving the rise of vapes:

✔ High profit margins
✔ High repurchase rates

In particular, in December 2018, a piece of news went viral online:
“US vape companies distribute $2 billion in year-end bonuses, averaging $1.3 million per person!”

What company is so incredibly generous🤨⁉️

It turned out to be Juul Labs - the American vape giant - which planned to hand out $2 billion in special dividends to its 1,500 employees as year-end bonuses. That averaged out to $1.3 million per person (about 8.95 million RMB).

Juul entered the U.S. market in 2015, and by 2016 its sales had skyrocketed by 700%. By September 2018, Juul had captured 72% of the entire U.S. vape market, reaching annual sales of $2 billion.

At its peak, Juul was valued at $38 billion, briefly surpassing SpaceX. In late 2018, U.S. tobacco giant Altria acquired 35% of Juul for $12.8 billion. With this influx of capital, Juul was able to lavish its employees with extraordinary bonuses - the source of those viral multi-million-yuan payouts.

Meanwhile, in the first half of 2019, Chinese vape brands exploded onto the scene. They attracted wave after wave of investment. Based on incomplete statistics, over 35 vape investment deals were completed during this period, with 18 of them exceeding 10 million yuan, totaling more than 1 billion yuan.

But this frenzy in China was short-lived. On October 30, 2019, the “Announcement on Further Protecting Minors from the Harm of Vapes” was officially released, and the national ban on online sales of vapes came into effect.

From that point on, the vape industry shifted from its rapid-growth phase to an era of increasingly strict regulation.

IV. 2019 to Present: The Beginning and Strengthening of the Regulatory Era 📈

To protect minors, countries worldwide have implemented regulations on vapes.

Regulatory Policies in Major Overseas Consumer Markets 🌐

1.United States 🇺🇸

In August 2016, the US FDA's Tobacco Products Control Act (TPDA) came into effect. This law requires new tobacco products to pass PMTA approval before they can be legally marketed and sold. It also strengthens regulations to prevent minors from using vapes. In February 2020, tighter regulations significantly increased compliance costs for the industry.

2.European Union 🇪🇺

Vapes are regulated as recreational consumer products. Since 2016, vapes and related products have been subject to Article 20 of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD).

3.China’s Regulatory Policies 🇨🇳

• In October 2019, China issued a ban on online sales of vapes.

• On March 11, 2022, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STO) published the Administrative Measures for vapes, which took effect on May 1, 2022.

• On April 12, 2022, the mandatory national standard for vapes (GB41700-2022) was officially released and implemented on October 1, 2022.

Following these measures, vape manufacturers are required to:
✅ Obtain production licenses
✅ Register on a unified trading platform

This marks the official entrance of the domestic vape industry into an era of compliance.

Opportunities in the Era of Stricter Regulation 

For vapes, stricter regulation does not signal the end of the industry. On the contrary, it represents the beginning of a longer-term future, with the market continuing to grow 📊.

However, unlike the previous phase of rapid and aggressive expansion, the vape industry in this era:

• Requires more technological innovation

• Must develop products that meet regulatory standards and market demands

In the vape industry, change is the only constant 🔄. While challenges exist, there are also significant opportunities for growth and innovation.

V. Conclusion 📝

Vapes have evolved from a product into an industry, and then into a vaping culture. Along the way, they have encountered many obstacles and challenges. However, new things inevitably replace the old, and the future of vapes, though fraught with difficulties, is bright ✨.

As vape enthusiasts, we are committed to working with our peers and contemporaries, and we look forward to a better future for vapor development and market penetration.

Everything we do today will become history tomorrow, a part of the history of vape development 📚.

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