A vape is sometimes called an e-cigarette, vape pen, e-hookah, or mod. All of these names refer to an electronic tobacco product. Vapes typically have a liquid that is heated to create a vapor, which the user inhales.

There are 3 main components to a vaping device:

1. Battery

2. Clearomizer or tank (the thing that holds the e-liquid). Usually a plastic or glass vial with a wick inside and a coil of resistance wire that heats up.

The e-liquid

The battery sends a current through the coil of resistance wire (inside the clearomizer) which has been wrapped around a wick or cotton which is gently heated to evaporate and turn the saturated e-liquid to vapour.

There are two types of vaping devices: mouth-to-lung or direct-to-lung. These are to do with the way you inhale the vapour — whether you hold it in your mouth first (like a cigarette), or direct inhale (like an asthma inhaler). The closest to smoking a cigarette is a mouth-to-lung device.