Vaporizers have been around for over a hundred years now, even though the concept has been around for much longer than that. They are an effective alternative to smoking cigarettes, since instead of burning the tobacco (or other plant), the device causes the active ingredients of the plant that make it desirable to smoke are instead melted and evaporated inside the chamber. These vapors are then filtered through a water pipe and then inhaled directly, often through a pipe or hose, and continue to be stored inside the device until they are released by the user when he or she inhales them or opens the release valve.
There is little to no smoke produced by these devices and secondhand smoke is all but eliminated from the experience. One of the benefits of vaporizers is the ability to achieve the same effect from whatever material you want to put in it (be it tobacco, peppermint leaves, or any of a number of other plants) without having to use as much as you normally would if you were going to combust the material instead by setting it on fire.
In some places, public bans on smoking make it hard for people who do smoke to be able to get their nicotine fix, but since vaporizers (and similarly, hookahs) produce next to no smoke at all, they are being used more often in public places instead of only in the home.
There are a number of different kinds of vaporizers available on the market today and range anywhere from $50 to several hundred dollars in price and the method of heating also varies from conduction, convection, and radiation. Some of the most simple vaporizers will use a lighter as a heat source, but if you want a more precise level of control, you will want to go with an electronic model.
Radiation heating models subject the plant material to a high amount of bright light, which raises its temperature.
When heating the material by convection, it never actually touches the heating element itself. Hot air heats the material instead.
Conduction heating is used when the plant material is put onto a metal plate and then the plate is heated, which heats the plant material. Since this can cause the plant material to burn, this is not the best heating method available and is avoided in most designs today.
Some vaporizers have a tube that you can inhale the vapors through, while others will have a balloon type of attachment in which you can have the vapor stored, then the bag is detached and the user inhales the contents.
