Vaping is first and foremost a community-led movement. Smokers who were seeking to break their bad habits, and who came across a new Chinese device that they knew nothing about in 2007. They organised themselves into forums, had discussions with manufacturers, and peer support developed from these first social interactions.

Meetings for nicotine patch users? That would have been unheard of. E-cigarettes are so extraordinary that they have succeeded in bringing thousands of ex-smokers together in a very short time. The vaping community has helped drive progress, and has definitely saved millions of smokers from an early death. The history of these groups to which vaping owes so much is presented below.