How do e-cigarettes work?

At the opposite end of the e cigarette you will find the cartridge. The end of the cartridge serves as the mouthpiece of the e cigarette, and the cartridge itself is filled with an e-liquid. Initially, e-liquids were designed to simulate the flavour of tobacco, mimicking the experience of conventional cigarettes as closely as possible. However, the range of e-liquids now available has vastly expanded the variety of flavours that can be enjoyed via an e cigarette.

In between the battery and the cartridge is the vaporisation chamber, a tube that contains the control circuitry of the e cigarette and an atomiser. This is the heart of the e cigarette, and it's where the magic happens. When the user inhales through the mouthpiece, this triggers the atomiser to heat the liquid from the cartridge, converting it into a vapour within the vaporisation chamber.

The vapour, carrying the flavour of the e-liquid, is inhaled by the user and enters their lungs. When this vapour is exhaled, it looks very much like the cloud of smoke you would get from a conventional cigarette. However, because it's vapour and not smoke, using an e cigarette is commonly called vaping. Likewise, users are vapers, not smokers.

That's how e cigarettes work - it's that simple! Importantly, e cigarettes contain no tobacco. Whilst many e-liquids do contain nicotine, this is not essential and many vapers now enjoy e cigarettes that are completely nicotine-free.