Inventor foresees role for 'vapers' as more smoking bans enacted

Before Hon Lik invented the e-cigarette, a device now shaking up the Big Tobacco industry, he was a pharmacist in China struggling to quit a two-to-three pack a day smoking habit.

One day in 2002, Hon forgot to remove a nicotine patch from his stomach before bed and had nightmares all night. He traced it to the continuous dose of nicotine and then realized it was precisely that steady release that made patches inadequate for him.

Without the sharp nicotine highs he got from smoking, he found there was no relaxation or stress relief.