B.A.T. had developed e-cig by 1998

[Matt Gluggles]

It is often said the the e-cigs, as we know them, were invented by a Chinese Scientist called Hon Lik in 2003.

However, a document marked 'Confidential for British & American Tobacco' shows that as far back as January 1998, BAT were working with a company called Vapotronic Ltd to develp a product called the 'Cigotronic' - an e cig.

The Cigotronic

Work started on the Cigotronic in 1993, and by 1998 it was ready for BAT to take to the market. The Cigotronic was "a non-combustible completely "smoke-free" electronic cigarette shaped and sized device designed to create and control nicotine vapour for delivery, via the lungs to the consumer. The device, which can hold the equivalent nicotine content of 20 cigarettes, eliminates most of the known hazards associated with combustible smoking. It is designed to deliver the taste, smell, oral and handling characteristics plus other sensory benefits desired by the smoker, including the physiological stimulation of nicotine"



This was developed as a direct response to the anti-smoking lobby and was to have been marketed under the slogan "Smoke-Free to Smoke Freely".

The document says that the Cigatronic completely eliminates the "carcinogenic smoke & tar cocktail", supports the governments and the Anti-Smoking lobby's strategic direction by providing a solution to both the primary and secondary health issues whilst satisfying the smokers need for nicotine stimulation. Consequently consumers choosing to exercise their right to consume nicotine with the Cigatronics device can do so in all public places where smoking is currently banned.

BAT intended to pay tobacco tax on the product (which, at the time was much lower than todays duty rates) and said "Control of the nicotine supply will protect the tax revenue base for governments plus tobacco leaf growers will continue to benefit economically through the maintenance of the demand for nicotine."

The Cigatronic was claimed to provide an identical physiological response to the inhaled nicotine delivered by a cigarette as well as the behavioural satisfaction of the hand/mouth ritual

It was also disposable, intended to replace a pack of 20 and the target was to have it ready for FDA compliance testing by June 2000.

So there we have it.

In January 1998, 5 years before Hon Lik and Ruyan produced their invention, BAT had a full working e-cig ready to be put into production.

For reasons that are entirely unexplained at this stage, they decided not to procede.

SOURCE AND COPY OF THE CONFIDENTIAL B.A.T. DOCUMENT HERE :

tobaccodocuments.org/batco/322017730-7745.html?zoom=750&ocr_position=above_foramatted&start_page=1




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[Clutter]

I wonder if BAT decided there wasn't enough money in it prior to the smoking bans introduced in the USA & across Europe ???

[hifistud]

That was cigatronic pitching to BAT - they were using bubblejet technology to create a very fine mist, not so much a vapour as we know it. More of a portable nebuliser, really.

[GothicLord]

It does seem now tho that BAT have taken a bit more of an interest in e-cigs now, and seem to be making moves to bring them into the mainstream, with rumours of a them going in with skycig/blu to help get the product into the supermarkets. You have to wonder how long it will be before imperial tobacco, and other tobacco companies, start working with other e-cig companies to get their products on the shop shelf.

Just a shame that BAT didn't run with this idea sooner, looking at how far things have come since e-cigs & vaping appeared, where could we have been with a further 5 years of development

[booblay]

cigatronic has a nice ring to it.

cigatron even better.

[hifistud]

They've formed Nicoventures, expected to have product on the market 1st quarter 2013, probably in cahoots with Kind Consumer, who are developing a nicotine pyruvate based product. The bubblejet device, simply put, did not work. Nowhere near good enough, as the dosages were so small and localised to the upper brachial tract. Had they used the bubblejet nozzle to feed a coil, it might have been a lot different.

Oct 8, 2012 11:54:50 GMT GothicLord said:

It does seem now tho that BAT have taken a bit more of an interest in e-cigs now, and seem to be making moves to bring them into the mainstream, with rumours of a them going in with skycig/blu to help get the product into the supermarkets. You have to wonder how long it will be before imperial tobacco, and other tobacco companies, start working with other e-cig companies to get their products on the shop shelf.

Just a shame that BAT didn't run with this idea sooner, looking at how far things have come since e-cigs & vaping appeared, where could we have been with a further 5 years of development

[Matt Gluggles]

It is interesting that BAT were considering options back in 1998 - but I agree that in all likelyhood the product didn't work, or at least, it didn't work well enough to satisfy BAT that it could replace cigarettes for some smokers.

It is a pity that they decided not to procede on these grounds, rather than take the attitude "how do we make it work" and look at things like visible vapour and adjusting the specifications - that is where Hon Lik and Ruyan came in a few years later - and thank god that they did.

Vapotronics continued to develop drug inhalation technology and got bought out by another bio-pharma company in 2002 www.evaluatepharma.com/Universal/View.aspx?type=Story&id=206732

Hon Lik should be given a sainthood, in my opinion, how many people's lives have been saved thanks to his idea?

[GothicLord]

Oct 8, 2012 14:46:27 GMT Matt Gluggles said:

Hon Lik should be given a sainthood, in my opinion, how many people's lives have been saved thanks to his idea?

It's not just the lives saved, but how many people develop something that can have such a big impact on an entire industry. I know vaping is a drop in the ocean of the nicotine/tobacco industry, but there are more and more people converting by the day, and the technology is advancing.

[maccafan]

Patents for non-tobacco cigarette substitutes have been floating around since 1903. A definite cigarette replacement was first conceptualized in 1948.

www.google.com/patents/US7845359

The concept of using a battery was conceptualized in 1965 by Herbert Gilbert. Most of these are cited in developments thereafter Fritz Meyers 1988 design is almost unchanged as of today. However concept and a patent and introduction to the market are two different things.

Hon Lik and Ruyan deserve all the credit for that.