It might feel like vaping has come out of nowhere, but tobacco and technology companies have been workshopping alternatives to combustible cigarettes for decades now—and largely flopping. Perhaps back in the 2000s, you encountered what appeared to be a cigarette, only to discover the “lit” end was a battery-operated light. Or a few years ago, you might have mistaken a friend’s Pax or Juul for a high-tech lighter or slim USB drive. (Were we ever so young?)
It might feel like vaping has come out of nowhere, but tobacco and technology companies have been workshopping alternatives to combustible cigarettes for decades now—and largely flopping. Perhaps back in the 2000s, you encountered what appeared to be a cigarette, only to discover the “lit” end was a battery-operated light. Or a few years ago, you might have mistaken a friend’s Pax or Juul for a high-tech lighter or slim USB drive. (Were we ever so young?)
But within the last decade or so, as cigarette sales flag, e-cigarettes have come into their own. According to Euromonitor, between 2015 and 2018 sales of e-vapor products and heated tobacco products (HTPs) increased a whopping 228%, from an estimated $8.4 billion to $27.6 billion. Herewith, a short history of how we got here:
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