The History of Vapes: How Long Have Vapes Been Around? When Did Vapes Come Out? A Brief History of Vaping Vapestore Did you know that vapes were originally invented primarily as an alternative to smoking tobacco? Unfortunately, vapes have sparked a new epidemic of nicotine addiction among those who may not even use Vaping Devices (Electronic Cigarettes) DrugFacts National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)