F.A.Q. about ENDS: Difficult things in simple words

This article provides comprehensive information about ENDS: its history, types of devices, and technical specifications for its production.

What is ENDS? the history of its emergence

The history of vape culture dates back to the ’50-’60s. XX century, to be exact to 1958 when one of the top managers of Philip Morris tobacco company was pronounced fateful words, which defined the birth of alternative culture of smoking: “I bet the company that first introduces a cigarette with significantly reduced tar and nicotine content, will conquer the market. 

At his suggestion in 1963 Herbert A. Gilbert was issued the world’s first patent for an “electronic cigarette” – the description of this invention described the mechanism of modern gadget, namely, replacing the classic tobacco combustion by heating flavoring containing nicotine in much smaller amounts.

However, thanks to the efforts of the U.S. tobacco lobby and the high level of consumer distrust for a new product, the idea did not get a large-scale implementation, remaining in history as a document.
The second attempt to create an attractive alternative to the traditional cigarette was more successful: thanks to the efforts of Datapoint cofounder and “father of the microprocessor” John Phil Ray and his doctor Norman L. Jacobson, the world saw a “fake cigarette” – a plastic case containing a container with nicotine and filter. The product was named Favor, but due to design flaws (rapid nicotine evaporation, poor filtration), it was not a commercial success.

Up to 2000-ies in the USA and then in Europe there was a process of search of an alternative, smokeless cigarettes; several dozens of patents were registered, which were actively bought up by the largest tobacco factories to maintain a monopoly in the tobacco market, which, together with restrictions of the US Department of Health has not allowed to create any sustainable commercial model, but gave the world a new cultural term – “vaping” – people who prefer smokeless, “fake cigarettes”.
The history of “modern vaping” begins with the name of Chinese pharmacologist Hong Liq, who offered his employer, Golden Dragon Holdings, the first electronic vaporizer that took into account all the shortcomings of its predecessors – and the global tobacco market plunged into a new era – the era of Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS).

Types of ENDS. POD system – a technological revolution in the world of ENDS

All kinds of ENDS devices can be divided into 2 big categories:

1. Devices with an open system

1.1 Box mods – a battery pack with a controller board that allows you to personalize user settings by criteria of power, power consumption, and protection against overheating (controlling the force and frequency of puffs). Usually, on the body of such devices, there is a screen that displays information about the system operation;

1.2 Mechanical mods – a case with a built-in battery that supplies voltage to the atomizer, i.e., a direct connection of the atomizer to the battery, and they originally served as a homemade alternative to devices with a board. In this version, the user can not personalize the settings of the device.

2. Closed System Devices or POD systems

These devices consist of a battery and a cartridge that acts as a reservoir for liquid and evaporation chamber at the same time. The peculiarity of these devices is the indestructibility of the built-in battery, and the cartridge can be refillable or come already filled with liquid, but in any case, it is indestructible and at the end of the life of the heating element is replaced as a whole. 

An important feature of POD systems is their ability to work with liquids with high nicotine content, or salt nicotine, which allows the user to satisfy the “nicotine hunger” in a few puffs. 

From a consumer perspective, POD systems have strong competitive advantages

1) tight, cigarette-like puffs; 

2) portability and minimal weight; 

3) ease of use and maintenance – accessible and understandable for newcomers to vape culture;

4) maximum similarity to regular cigarettes – devices based on POD-systems are usually small enough and some of them can be held between two fingers and in the mouth without hands, and the effort to make a puff and the liquid with high nicotine content will help to identify the process of smoking.

How does a POD system work? A brief guide to the technology

Any POD gadget includes the following functional components:

1. A built-in battery that charges via micro-USB or Type-C.
2. Cartridges, or tanks, consisting of a wire coil (coil or coil), cotton wick, and liquid tank in one package.
3. Heater (built in the pod itself) – there are classic (coil-wick), ceramic, mesh (mash-coil) and mixed heating elements.
4. Microprocessor – controls the operation of the evaporator.
5. Airflow sensor – activates the cigarette when you puff.
6. Casing – a shell made of high-strength plastic, metal or polycarbonate materials. 

The cartridge contains the vaping liquid itself, which includes:

1. Regular (free) or saline.
2. Glycerin, the alcohol needed to dissolve the other components of the liquid and form vapor.
3. Propylene glycol – a food additive that prevents the loss of moisture and evaporation of the liquid during the operation of the cartridge.
4. Flavorings – various additives that form the flavor of the liquid when vaping.
5. Optionally there may be a booster – special additives that enhance the nicotine content by increasing its recoil (evaporation) in the liquid.

Technical and manufacturing specifications for producing ENDS

To ensure the production of a quality product you should pay attention to the following aspects:

1. Quality of materials for the body – only high-quality plastic of HDPE, PP standard, or metal – food-grade stainless steel, aluminum – may be used for manufacturing ENDS devices.
2. Batteries – only special NiCd, NiMH, Li-ion, Li-poly, LiMn batteries with increased current output and high capacity are allowed for ENDS devices.
3. Before launching the devices on the market, the manufacturer should undergo a series of tests that will determine the safety of the product for the consumer. Typically, mandatory tests include: 

  • Pressure drop test
  • Vapor density test 
  • EMP test
  • Puff count test
  • Vapor collection for chemical tests

In the future, it is expected to conduct large-scale studies of vape devices in terms of their impact on the health of consumers, which should help to unify the rules of their civil circulation. However, at the moment their status is mainly determined individually by each country or commonwealth (union).

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

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