Han Lik and eCigarettes

General Purpose: To inform.

Specifi c Purpose: To inform my audience of Han Lik as the founder of electronic
cigarettes, and how electronic cigarettes will impact out future.
Thesis Statement: Electronic cigarettes (eCigarettes) have been in existence since
2003, and are growing quickly. To better understand how electronic cigarettes will
impact our generation, we must examine the history, the health effects, and the
public usage of the eCigarette.

Introduction
I.

II.

III.

IV.

Attention-Getter: According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word vape

was chosen to be the word of the year for 2014 due to its rise in public
usage and growth as a preferred platform for nicotine absorption over the
past few years.
Credibility statement: As a seasoned user of electronic cigarettes, and
a past partner in Cloud 69 Vapors, I know how electronic cigarettes
function, what goes inside of them, and what comes out. However, I
wanted to conduct some formal and unbiased academic research too to
see if any new information had sprung up about the health impacts of the
usage of electronic cigarettes.
Relate topic to audience: Being within a 10-foot radius of second-hand
smoke can often be very uncomfortable. While smoking seems to be a
habit mostly of the baby-boomer generation, our generation, the
millennial generation, is likely to see a rise in electronic cigarettes on the
streets or in shopping malls, based on the past growth of sales and usage
alone.
Thesis statement: Electronic cigarettes (eCigarettes) have been in
existence since 2003, and are growing quickly. To better understand how
electronic cigarettes will impact our generation, we must examine the
history, the health effects, and the public usage of the eCigarette today.

Directional Transition: Now that I have covered my past experiences and plan of
presentation, I will begin by addressing the history of the eCigarette along with
some background information of its inventor, Chinese pharmacist Han Lik.

Body
I.

Main Point 1: History of the eCigarette

A. Sub-point 1: Han Lik, a Chinese pharmacist and ex-smoker, was
inspired by a dream, and motivated by his dying Father, a cancer
patient, to create the first electronic cigarette.
1. Sub sub-point 1: According to LA Times, Han Lik was inspired
by a dream in 2000, where he was uncontrollably coughing and
wheezing. He imagined he was drowning, until suddenly the

waters around him lifted into a fog (Demick, B. (2009, April 25).
A High-Tech Approach to Getting a Nicotine Fix. Los Angeles
Times).
2. Sub sub-point 2: According to CASAA.org, the Consumer
Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association, Han Lik
invents the device after his father, also a heavy smoker, died of
lung cancer (E-cigarette History. (2012, January 1).).
B. Sub-point 2: Han Lik patents the eCigarette in 2003 in China, and his
intellectual property was bought by Imperial Tobacco, suggesting this
new idea is a hot topic to entrepreneurs.
1. Sub sub-point 1: According to an interview conducted by the
French Publication Science et Avenir with Han Lik himself, Han
Lik stated he registered his patent in China in 2003 (I Was Sure
that the Electronic Cigarette Would be Welcomed with Open
Arms [Personal interview]. (2013, 10)).
2. Sub sub-point 2: According to Bloomberg Business, British
tobacco giant Imperial Tobacco agreed to buy Han Liks
intellectual property from his company Dragonite Inc. for USD
$75 million later that same year in September (Gustafsson, K.
(2013, September 2). Imperial Tobacco Agrees to Acquire
Dragonite's E-Cigarette Unit).
Directional Transition: After covering the history of Han Liks inspiration and the
history of his patent, we will continue to investigate the effects eCigarettes have on
users, as well as others within a radius of second-hand vapor.
II.

Main Point 2: eCigarette Health Effects

A. Sub-point 1: Health effects are still in debate today.
1. Sub sub-point 1: Websites such as E-Cig-Reviews.com and
UKVaper.com tend to be biased to say that vaping is a risk-free
alternative to smoking.
2. Sub sub-point 2: Research is still in effect today, but so far we
can only conclude that it is safer than cigarettes, as eCigarettes
do not contain tar or smoke, but that does not make them a riskfree solution, as they still contain nicotine and at higher voltages
even contain the carcinogen Formaldehyde, according to Rob
Steins article on NPR (Stein, R. (2015, January 21). E-Cigarettes
Can Churn Out High Levels Of Formaldehyde).
B. Sub-Point 2: Vapor is known to have a 10-fold decrease in the amount
of carcinogens than that of cigarette smoke, but does contain larger
amounts of toxic metals which could be inhaled through second-hand
vapor, unlike cigarettes.
1. Sub sub-point 1: According to a new study conducted last
August, the University of Southern California has concluded that
vapor from electronic cigarettes contain a full 10-fold decrease
in toxic carcinogens than the amounts of traditional cigarette
smoke (Perkins, R. (2014, August 28). Second-Hand E-Cigarette

Smoke: Healthier Than Regular Cigarette Smoke, but Still

Contains Some Toxic Elements).
2. Sub sub-point 2: Although eCigarettes may have a lower
amount of organic carcinogens, they also contain higher toxic
levels of chromium and nickel at four times the amount of
traditional cigarettes, according to an article published by
Medical News Today (Ellis, M. (2014, September 1). 'Increased
Levels of Toxic Metals' in E-cigarette Secondhand Smoke).
Internal Review: We can see that eCigarettes have the potential to be safer than
cigarettes, as eCigarettes do not contain tar and smoke, but still contain toxic
elements which are dangerous to the user and to those inhaling second-hand vapor.
Directional Transition: The health risks associated with eCigarettes tell us that
they are slightly safer than cigarettes, but do not pose themselves as a risk-free
alternative; we will move on to some statistics about public usage to determine how
popular eCigarettes are today.
III.

Main Point 3: Public Usage of the eCigarette

A. Sub-point 1: eCigarettes are reaching staggering sales.
1. Sub sub-point 2: According to a study published in July 2014,
StatisticBrain concluded that sales of eCigarettes in 2013 had
reached USD $1 billion (Electronic Cigarette Statistics. (2014,
June 13))
2. Sub sub-point 2: While the estimated amount of cigarette
smokers in 2014 lingered around 45 million, eCigarette users are
slowly catching up with 2.5 million in 2014, according to
StatisticBrain (Electronic Cigarette Statistics. (2014, June 13)).
B. Sub-point 1: eCigarettes are performing their job as a tobacco
alternative, and are more successful than other alternatives.
1. According to Science Magazine, a study was conducted in
England where 60% of smokers who moved to eCigarettes did
not switch back to traditional cigarettes (Williams, S. (2014,
March 20). E-Cigarettes Help Smokers Quit).
2. Furthermore, Science Magazine also reported that 10% of the
cigarette smokers who attempted to quit with patches actually
became smoke-free; people dont just like the nicotine, but they
also like the act and sensation of a holding an object that
produces a smoke-like vapor (Williams, S. (2014, March 20). ECigarettes Help Smokers Quit).

Directional Transition: In closing, we can see eCigarettes are becoming a more

widely-used phenomenon, but are not necessarily life-threatening.

Conclusion
I.

Restatement of Thesis: After reviewing the history, adverse health

effects, and public usage statistics, we can agree that eCigarettes are not
safe, but are a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes.

II.

Clincher: As said by Michael Siegel, a professor at Boston University,

replacing tobacco with e-cigarettes [is similar] to heroin users switching
to the painkiller methadone. The replacement may have its own risks, but
it's safer (Griffin, R. (2014, January 3). E-Cigarettes: Health and Safety
Issues).

Bibliography
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E-cigarette History. (2012, January 1). Retrieved February 1, 2015, from
http://casaa.org/E-cigarette_History.html
Electronic Cigarette Statistics. (2014, June 13). Retrieved February 2, 2015, from
http://www.statisticbrain.com/electronic-cigarette-statistics/
Ellis, M. (2014, September 1). 'Increased Levels of Toxic Metals' in E-cigarette
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Perkins, R. (2014, August 28). Second-Hand E-Cigarette Smoke: Healthier Than
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Stein, R. (2015, January 21). E-Cigarettes Can Churn Out High Levels Of
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