BEIJING — Hon Lik used to light up first thing in the morning. He smoked between lectures at the university where he studied Oriental medicine, between bites at lunch, in the lab where he researched ginseng health products. He'd usually burn through two packs by dusk and smoke a third over dinner and drinks with colleagues.
It wasn't until his father, also a heavy smoker, died of lung cancer that Hon finally kicked the habit.
Hon's story could be that of any other nicotine-addicted, middle-aged man in China, where 60% of the men smoke. What distinguishes the 52-year-old pharmacist and inventor is that he found inspiration in the addiction.
One of the strangest gizmos to come out of China in recent years, Hon's invention, the electronic cigarette, turns the adage "where there's smoke there's fire" on its head.
It doesn't burn at all. Instead, it uses a small lithium battery that atomizes a liquid solution of nicotine. What you inhale looks like smoke, but it's a vapor similar to stage fog. (Take that, smoke-free bars!) It even has a red light at the tip that lights up with each drag.
"It's a much cleaner, safer way to inhale nicotine," said Hon, blowing curlicues of e-smoke as he showed off the cigarette in his Beijing office. (He says he doesn't smoke anymore, except for such demonstrations.)
Hon got his first patent on the e-cigarette in 2003 and introduced it to the Chinese market the next year. The company he worked for, Golden Dragon Holdings, was so inspired that it changed its name to Ruyan (meaning "like smoke") and started selling abroad.
This year, it's planning a big push in the United States. A disposable e-cigarette called the Jazz ($24.95 for the equivalent of five packs) is due to hit 7-Elevens in the Dallas-Fort Worth area shortly. Many rival versions, all made in China, are making their way to the U.S., sold mostly over the Internet by small marketing firms.
Unlike nicotine patches and gum, electronic cigarettes are designed to be fun. There are regulars and menthols, as well as chocolate and strawberry. A company in Japan is selling one that is charged by the USB port of a computer.
The e-cigarettes aren't marketed as a way to quit smoking, but as a smoking alternative.
"It's safe smoking -- like smoking with a condom on," said William Taskas, a Canadian distributor who is marketing a product called Smoke- Stik.
