E-Cigarettes vs. Vaporizers: Differences & Similarities

E-Cigarettes vs. Vaporizers — A Complete Overview

When it comes to e-cigarettes and vaping, a lot of people are clueless. How can they not be? Nowadays, people have an insane amount of options outside of the traditional tobacco cigarette. In the past ten years or so, we’ve had the electronic cigarette option, which was created with the idea of being a healthier option to regular cigarettes due to the exclusion of some of the ingredients—tobacco included. However, e-cigs were only the beginning. Vaporizers jumped into the e-cigarette scene and people today are still struggling to understand it. This article will hopefully sort out some of the confusion when learning about e-cigarettes and vaping.

E-Cigarette Introduction

In the year of 1963, a man named Herbert A. Gilbert filed his first electronic cigarette patent. Unfortunately, people were too fond of traditional cigarettes to care for something new, so the patent expired and didn't go anywhere. Then in 2003, Chinese pharmacist, Hon Lik grabbed the torch from where Herbert A. Gilbert left off by releasing the first smoking alternative in 2006: e-cigarettes. Just like Herbert A. Gilbert, the idea that Hon Lik had was to mimic the experience of smoking a cigarette. True to his word: the look and feel of e-cigarettes are said to be almost identical to a regular cigarette. A tobacco cigarette smoker all of his life, Hon Lik wanted what he considered to be a better, less harmful alternative, which is why he created e-cigs.

Hon Lik, creator of e-cigarettes

Vaporizers Become the New Rage

After the popularity of the electronic cigarette, smokers started leaning more towards vaporizers. According to Wall Street Journal, a recent Wells Fargo study suggests that vaporizers are growing twice as fast as standard e-cigs, with nearly 50% of total e-cig sales. Why this boost in popularity? One main difference is that with e-cigs, vapers can mix and match liquids to achieve preferences varying from flavoring, cloud production, and throat hit. Propylene Glycol and Vegetable Glycerin in vape e-juices offer different ratios so that vape fans can find the one best suited for them. There are also DIY vape forums dedicated to creating your own e-juice. Below, we will dive into more of the differences between the two.

E-Cigs vs Vaporizers...The Difference

• Flavor: E-cigs do not have a wide array of e-juice flavors at their disposal. They are mainly restricted to tobacco and menthol flavoring to taste like a regular cigarette.
• Customization: Cartridges with e-cigs are pre-filled, and manipulating the device for more flavor is easier to do so with vaporizers.
• Battery: E-cigs have limited amount of battery due to their size, while vaporizer batteries can last all day.
• Cartomizers: Unlike vaporizers,  you can’t view the cartomizer on an e-cig to tell when it’s almost empty.
• Nicotine: Nicotine levels are more controlled via a vaporizer than an e-cig. This causes a smoother delivery of the nicotine. Additionally, there is an option for no nicotine in certain vape e-liquids.
• Refillable: Vaporizers are refillable with e-liquid, while e-cigs require a new cartridge when they run out.
• Automatic: In the beginning, e-cigs had a button that the user had to push every time they inhaled. Now most e-cigs are automatic and activate whenever the user inhales.
• Cartridges: Cartridges of e-cigs may not be compatible across brands. So you’ll have to do your research and find out when buying one.
• Buttons: Most e-cigs are automatic with no buttons to push, while vaporizers have buttons that are pressed to inhale vapor.

Similarities Between E-Cigarettes & Vaporizers

• Rechargeable: Both can be recharged with using a USB or wall charger. However, not all e-cigs are rechargeable--some can be disposable. Safe charging practices require research, high-quality batteries, and a charger that's provided by the manufacturer all to make ensure safe charging without overheating.
• No Secondhand Smoke: Both release clouds of vapor instead of smoke. Because of this, there has been no evidence to suggest secondhand smoke as a result from inhaling vapor from e-cigs and vaporizers.
• Throat Hit: Both offer what’s called a “throat hit” which is similar to the feeling tobacco smokers get.
• No Tobacco: Both e-cigs and vaporizers do not contain tobacco. Instead, they offer nicotine.

The Bottom Line…

E-cigarettes and vaporizers are new to the scene and are still being studied to this day. So even if you scoured the web for everything there is to know, you could still have some questions unanswered. But don’t worry—you’re not alone. Millions of people are studying all the alternatives there are to smoking a traditional cigarette, and learning about what this new “vape” thing is all about. If you are still considering vaporizers and the wide array of customization's that come with it, the first thing you need to do is research. Feel free to explore our website for more information on vaping! Curious about e-juice options? Feel free to browse candy Ruthless e-juice collection.