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.