How electronic cigarettes work

Electronic cigarettes use electricity, as their name implies, to vaporize a nicotine solution into water vapor that is then inhaled just like the smoke from a tobacco cigarette. The only difference is you’re not actually inhaling smoke, but water vapor mixed with nicotine and flavorings.

There are three Main parts to an electronic cigarette, the battery, the atomizer and the cartridge. Most batteries have a small LED at the tip that lights up when you take a drag very similar to the way the embers on a tobacco cigarette glow when you drag. This helps you know that you’re battery is charged and also stimulates a real cigarette in case you’re trying to smoke incognito.

The battery is the largest part of the device and goes where the tobacco is on a regular cigarette and is about the same size as that.

The next piece is the atomizer, which is the workhorse of the electronic cigarette and is responsible for vaporizing the nicotine solution.