Chinese pharmacist who made e-cigs possible
Published on: Mon, Jul 21, 2025
By: David Thien Text Size: Hon Lik puffs on an electronic tobacco pipe. - AFP pic. WARSAW: Electronic cigarettes would not be around today had a Chinese pharmacist not decide to do something about his smoking habit back in 2001. Hon Lik who was using high-dose nicotine patches to stop smoking devised a system on a large console using food additives as solvents.
Advertisement The challenge was managing to scale the mechanism down to a miniature size, suitable for a hand-held cigarette-sized device, and getting the right dose of nicotine while also getting the right odours from additives. A year earlier he developed the idea of using a piezoelectric ultrasound-emitting element to vaporise a pressurised jet of liquid containing nicotine diluted in a propylene glycol solution. Hon also proposed placing the liquid in a disposable plastic cartridge, which serves as a reservoir and mouthpiece. These inventions are the basis of the present-day electronic cigarettes which many wanting to kick the habit rely on. Hon patented his device in China and the first electronic cigarette was manufactured that same year in Beijing. The story of Hon Lik was documented at the 12th Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN 2025) at the Warsaw Presidential Hotel from June 19 to 21. Hon Lik accepted patronage of the Global Forum on Nicotine in 2015, which offers a platform for debate and information-sharing, while remaining focussed on the ultimate goal of tobacco harm reduction: accelerating the end of smoking-related death and disease. More than 8 million out of some 1.3 billion who still smoke die yearly. Scientific data show that the primary cause is high levels of Harmful and Potentially Harmful Constituents or HPHCs in smoke formed during the combustion of tobacco. According to Dr Mark Tyndall, the author of 'Vaping – Behind the Smoke and Fears', there are more than one billion smokers globally and the vast majority would die prematurely from smoking-related diseases. 'What people don't know is that there is a cure: vaping. Vaping is a non-toxic way to deliver the nicotine that smokers need without the disease-producing byproducts of burning tobacco. 'Compared with cigarettes, any health risks associated with vaping are very small,' he told the 12th Global Forum on Nicotine 2025 where he launched his book. PMI's Scientific Engagement Manager Markus Stratman told Daily Express during a media engagement at PMI's state-of-the-art research and development centre, The Cube, that nicotine patches sold in pharmacies have limited success in curbing smoking. This is because smokers do not experience the necessary level of nicotine delivery to effectively address their cravings. Harm reduction is an evidence-based public health approach grounded in human rights. It consists of pragmatic policies, regulations and actions that reduce health risks to individuals and communities by, for example, providing access to safer forms of products or substances, or encouraging less risky behaviours. Harm reduction does not focus on the eradication of products or behaviours, recognising that prohibition often leads to unintended consequences. Evidence-based, it first emerged during the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis, successfully helping reduce transmission with advice on safer sex and interventions like needle exchange for people who use drugs. The Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN) has been held yearly since 2014. It is the only international conference to focus on the role of safer nicotine products in helping people switch from smoking combustible cigarettes. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Express
an hour ago
- Daily Express
12th Global Forum on Nicotine experts fault WHO inaction
Published on: Tuesday, July 22, 2025 Published on: Tue, Jul 22, 2025 By: David Thien Text Size: WARSAW: The World Health Organization (WHO) was taken to task for its refusal to recognise scientific outcomes that prove alternative nicotine products help some 1.3 billion smokers in the world quit the habit, or transition to a less harmful to their health options. This view was shared by many expert participants at the 12th Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN 2025) that was held in Poland at the Warsaw Presidential Hotel from June 19 to 21, 2025. They were scientists and doctors among other professionals. It was reported that smoking causes some 8 million deaths around the world. It is well established that nicotine does not cause smoking-related diseases, which result instead from the inhalation of toxicants in tobacco smoke. High quality independent evidence supporting the role of safer nicotine products in smoking cessation is growing. Vapes, pouches, pasteurised snus and heated tobacco products (HTPs) all deliver nicotine without combustion, leading to substantially reduced health risks in comparison to continued smoking. There was consensus that fear-driven narratives about safer nicotine products means prolonged misery and death for smokers as pervasive misconceptions about safer nicotine products and their role in smoking cessation could see tobacco harm reduction fail to fulfil its huge potential. The Global Forum on Nicotine is organised by Global Forum on Nicotine Limited, an events company committed to providing a platform for global public health debate, knowledge exchange and networking, underpinned by the principles of inclusiveness and multi-sectoral engagement. It does not receive sponsorship from manufacturers, distributors or retailers of nicotine products including pharmaceutical, vaping and tobacco companies. Conference-supporting organisations endorse the event, but have no financial or administrative involvement in organisation of the event. According to Riccardo Polosa, professor of medicine at the University of Catania in Italy, the World Health Organization (WHO) is actively misleading the public about the relative risk of nicotine products compared to cigarettes on purpose. 'They select their references and distort the evidence. There is one single objective, in my opinion, which is to create their own science that supports the abstinence-only narrative,' he says. 'But this has terrible consequences for millions of smokers who would otherwise switch to much less harmful products. In the clinical world, this would be called negligence,' he said, in a special session marked 20 years of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), in which leading voices examined the treaty's impact. 'The FCTC has succeeded politically and legally,' said Jeannie Cameron, a policy consultant. 'But if we measure success by reductions in smoking and tobacco-related deaths, it has failed.' 'We still have over a billion smokers worldwide. The FCTC was meant to reduce cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory disease,' said Derek Yach, a former WHO director. 'Tobacco harm reduction is the obvious way to stop this crisis in its tracks.' Global experts are tackling a barrier that continues to undermine efforts to reduce the annual 8 million premature deaths related to smoking: misinformation and miscommunication about safer nicotine products and tobacco harm reduction (THR). The GFN 2025 is challenging perceptions as effective communication for tobacco harm reduction conference is a call to action for change. While science increasingly supports safer nicotine products like vapes, snus, pouches and heated tobacco as tools to help smokers switch away from combustibles, fear-driven narratives continue to dominate media and policy. In a keynote lecture Jacob Grier, a journalist covering tobacco policy who has written for Slate and The Atlantic, talked about the disconnect between the evidence for tobacco harm reduction – utility of products like vapes and snus as safer alternatives to continued smoking – and the fact that hostile media narratives are shaping public opinion and health policies. How can impactful, evidence-based messaging be built that respects both reduced-risk products and consumer autonomy? 'Obviously we need to emphasize credible research. The bad news is that having the facts on our side is clearly not enough,' Grier said. 'Journalists seek novelty, so if something isn't new, it isn't news. Millions of people dying from smoking isn't a story, but a few dozen people dying from adulterated [THC or cannabis] vapes generates months of media coverage.' The Global Forum on Nicotine is the only global event that welcomes all stakeholders involved with new and safer nicotine products, including: consumers and consumer advocates; public health experts; policy analysts, parliamentarians and government officials; academics and researchers; product manufacturers and distributors; and media representatives. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Brunei Chinese chamber of commerce holds event on traditional Chinese medicine
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Brunei's Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Bandar Seri Begawan hosted a cultural exchange event on Friday (July 18), focussing on traditional Chinese medicine and culture, aiming to strengthen healthcare cooperation between China and Brunei. According to the See Hua Daily News on Friday, the event aimed to enhance mutual understanding between civil organisations in Brunei and China and explore future collaboration opportunities in traditional Chinese medicine research and the health industry. - Xinhua
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Can a superalloy method fix aircraft engine woes, even for sixth-gen fighters?
Chinese researchers working on a new superalloy processing technique say their lab results suggest it could be used to build stronger and longer-lasting aircraft engines, according to state media. Superalloy turbine discs are a core component of aircraft engines and the new technique to cool down the metal alloy faster during manufacturing could significantly improve performance, the official Science and Technology Daily reported on Friday. It said the new technology had the potential to be used in the engines powering the country's new sixth-generation fighter jets. With at least two of these next-gen fighter jets currently under development, there is an urgent need to develop advanced, high-performance aircraft engines – an area where China has lagged behind the West. To do this, the team at Dalian University of Technology in northeast China tackled a key challenge in the manufacturing process: finding a way to rapidly cool the forged turbine discs made of superalloy. These discs are among the heaviest and most technically demanding parts of an aircraft engine. Their quality and durability has long been an obstacle for the industry since this determines the engine's power, efficiency and lifespan. In an aircraft engine, the turbine discs are the base on which turbine blades are mounted. The discs convert the thermal energy generated by fuel combustion into the rotational force needed to propel the aircraft. That means the superalloy the discs are made from must be able to withstand extreme temperatures, high pressure and high rotational speeds. During manufacturing, faster cooling produces smaller and more evenly distributed grains in the metal alloy, which translates to stronger, smoother surfaces and a longer lifespan. The team in Dalian have developed a technique where multiple high-speed jets of water are used to cool the superalloy in a fine, uniform mist. A computer simulation model is used to optimise placement of the nozzles and jet settings so that the process is precisely controlled, according to the report. The team said their experiment data showed the cooling speed was 3.75 times faster using this method, and there was a more than a fourfold improvement in crystal grain size distribution. An ultra-high temperature disc at 1,200 degrees Celsius (2,192 Fahrenheit) cooled down by 673 degrees per minute using this approach, the report said. 'Our cooling speed has met the demands of the new generation of aviation engines,' said Shi Jinhe, a leader of the research team. 'We will ... accelerate the application and transformation of the lab results.' The report did not say how much difference that could make to the performance of turbine discs in terms of temperature resistance and reliability. Aircraft engines have been a challenge for China. Its fifth-generation fighter jet, the J-20, was plagued for years with engine troubles referred to as 'heart disease'. Development of its WS-15 engine was repeatedly delayed and the fighter jet instead had an inferior engine that was said to have held it back from reaching its full potential, especially when it came to manoeuvrability and stealth capacity at supersonic speed. It was not until July 2023 that the first J-20 prototype fitted with two WS-15 engines began testing – more than 12 years after the J-20's maiden flight. Aircraft engine technology has been designated as a key priority in various state strategies as Beijing tries to push the sector to make progress and catch up with other nations. That has seen advances in powder metallurgy processing and the DD6 superalloy, which was used for the turbine discs of the WS-15 engine. Researchers are said to be developing a DD9 superalloy for China's next-generation fighter jet engine. That superalloy is reportedly able to withstand temperatures of up to 1,200 degrees, which would put it on par with the XA100 engine made by GE Aerospace for America's F-35 fighter jet. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
