The e-cigarette is smaller than the vaporizer and looks more like a real cigarette, but it’s limited when it comes to battery life, nicotine consistency, and flavor experimentation. Vaporizers, on the other hand, are bigger, can deliver more nicotine, have improved battery, and a larger variety of flavors and features. The business began as an alternative to offering low-nicotine options to smokers that were trying to quit. Since vaping has grown, experts have debated whether it’s beneficial or harmful to consumers and also whether or not e-cigs should be regulated the same way other tobacco products are. However, the industry realized that e-cigs could be extended to non-smokers and smokers alike, offering flavors from chocolate, fruits, or even butter. Of course, by pivoting towards a lifestyle feel over the “curing addiction” mentality, e-cigs have become widely appealing to young adults. In one particular study about the safety of e-cigs, researchers analyzed two leading brands and concluded the devices did in fact contain trace elements of hazardous compounds. However, the American FDA report found nine contaminates versus the 11,000 contained in a tobacco cigarette and noted that the level of toxicity was shown to be far lower than those of tobacco cigarettes. In another study, from the Cure From Tabacco and Prevention Center along with the Catania University, Italian researcher Riccardo Polosa found out that e-cigs are far better than regular cigarettes. Although this topic might be polemic and controversial, its long term success is almost guaranteed. A Wells Fargo report indicated that vapor industry profit margins could top combustible cigarettes by 2018. E-cigarette sales in the US are expected to hit $3.5 billion in 2015 and $7 billion worldwide. Further, specialists noted that vaping is substantially more affordable than combustible cigarettes and rechargeable e-cigarettes, and that the vaping lifestyle is attractive. The cofounder and CEO of premium V2 Cigs, J. Andries Verleur, suggests that as consumers begin to try and accept vaping and electronic cigarettes, disposable models will become obsolete: Indeed, as the world becomes more globalized through social networks, more attractive lifestyles change our society faster and faster. As these devices become more accepted by young adults, their market share will grow, more competitors will take place, and there will be the need for a regulation. Image Credit: Flickr / planetc1’s page / cropped, resized