2003 headline: Invention of e-cigarettes

[freemexy]

2003 headline: Invention of e-cigarettes
Three pack-a-day smoker Hon Lik, a 52-year-old Beijing pharmacist, created the first successful electronic Electronic Cigarette after his father, another heavy smoker, died of lung cancer. By 2007, e-cigarettes were marketed in Europe and the United States by manufacturer Ruyan as a way to safely stop smoking tobacco.
Hon was not the first person on record to have the idea for an electronic non-tobacco option. Herbert A. Gilbert filed for a patent in 1963, in an era when tobacco smoking was widely accepted and the health risks were less apparent.
In September 2008, the World Health Organization announced that marketers should immediately remove any claims that e-cigs are a "safe and effective smoking cessation aid" because there is "no scientific evidence to confirm the product's safety and efficacy."
Soon after, a study funded by e-cigarette manufacturer Ruyan declared the product to be 100 to 1,000 times less dangerous than smoking tobacco, adding that when using its device, nicotine is "apparently not absorbed from the lung, but from the upper airways."In May 2009, the Food and Drug Administration released the results of a test of two US e-cig brands, NJOY and Smoking Everywhere, that found "very low" amounts of nicotine in cartridges labeled as nicotine-free. In July, an FDA news release discouraged the use of e-cigarettes, saying they contain carcinogens and an ingredient used in antifreeze, diethylene glycol.
Another concern of the FDA's: E-cigarettes are often marketed and sold to youngsters who, intrigued by the many flavors such as chocolate, bubble gum and mint, might easily adopt a smoking habit as a result of trying the devices.