from 2003; youth surge c. 2015–2019Peer-reviewedWell documented

The Rise of Vaping

On the timeline · around from 2003; youth surge c. 2015–2019 ·

What happened

In 2003, Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik invented the modern e-cigarette after his father died of lung cancer. Vaping spread worldwide, and by the late 2010s sleek products like Juul drove a surge in e-cigarette use among teenagers that regulators called an epidemic.

Why it matters

E-cigarettes reopened the whole debate over nicotine: a potential harm-reduction tool for smokers, but also a new pathway to nicotine addiction for a generation of young people.

Sources

U.S. Surgeon General / NCBI Bookshelf. Introduction, Conclusions, and Historical Background Relative to E-Cigarettes · Peer-reviewed

Part of a timelineTobacco19 events · From sacred Indigenous plant to global commodity to the deadliest habit in history — the rise of tobacco, the science that exposed its cost, and the long fight to control it.View all →