Vape culture, how a device built its own codes and communities

Words by Léa Fontaine10 April 20267 min read

In two decades, the e-cigarette has gone from a niche gadget to a product with its own vocabulary, its own forums and its own trade shows. Along the way, a community of adult hobbyists has formed around the device, with codes that outsiders rarely notice. Vape culture is the name given to that layer of practices and references. How did a technical object end up with subcultures, and what do they actually look like in the UK today? The answer owes as much to regulation as to taste.

What vape culture means today

Vape culture refers to the practices, codes and references that surround vaping beyond the act itself. It shows in the way people choose and talk about their hardware, describe flavours, compare settings or meet other enthusiasts. What began as a functional product has become a field of technical discussion, with its own trends, recognised reviewers and specialist terms.

That dimension is visible far beyond shops. Video reviews, forum threads and recipe-sharing communities all feed it. The device itself is only part of the story, since much of the culture lives in the knowledge exchanged around it.

From imitation device to a hobby of its own

The first e-cigarettes sold in the UK were designed to look like a tobacco cigarette, slim sticks often called cigalikes. Nothing about them invited customisation, and there was little to talk about beyond the device itself.

The shift came with refillable hardware. Pen-style devices, then box mods with adjustable power and separate tanks, opened the door to settings, coils and e-liquids chosen by the user. Each new variable created something to compare, explain and debate, and that is where a community started to form.

Pod systems later moved part of the market back towards simplicity, with compact devices and prefilled or refillable cartridges. The hobbyist side did not disappear, it simply became one segment among others. Today, the same shop shelf can hold a sealed pod and a rebuildable atomiser, two products that speak to very different parts of the community.

The tribes of vape culture

Under the shared label of vape culture sit several groups with very different interests. A 2019 report by KFF Health News, published by NPR, described a landscape of subspecialists, from cloud chasers and coil builders to flavour chasers and DIY mixers. Understanding these groups helps explain why the market offers so many formats.

Cloud chasers

Cloud chasers focus on producing large volumes of vapour. Their setups rely on low-resistance coils, open airflow and e-liquids rich in vegetable glycerine. For this group, vaping is close to a technical discipline, with demonstrations of vapour tricks shared online.

Many of them use sub-ohm coils, meaning a coil with an electrical resistance below 1 ohm. Lower resistance means more heat at a given power and, as a result, more vapour.

Flavour chasers and DIY mixers

At the other end, a large part of the community cares above all about flavour accuracy. Flavour chasers adjust their coils, power and airflow to get the most precise taste from a recipe. Their approach is closer to that of someone comparing coffees or teas than to a performance hobby.

DIY mixers go one step further and build their own e-liquids from a base of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine plus flavour concentrates. Recipes circulate on blogs, forums and social platforms, and the NPR report quoted one mixer describing the practice as closer to bartending than to chemistry.

Coil builders

Coil builders work on rebuildable atomisers, winding their own coils from resistance wire. Changing the size, shape and material of a coil alters both vapour volume and flavour intensity. For this group, the build itself is part of the interest, and finished coils are often photographed and shared as small pieces of craft.

How UK rules shaped vape culture

In the UK, vape culture cannot be separated from regulation. The rules set by the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 changed the hardware people use and, with it, the habits of the community.

Tanks, bottles and nicotine strength

Government guidance on vaping products for consumers sets out the main limits. Refillable tanks are capped at 2ml, nicotine-containing e-liquid is limited to 10ml per refill container and to a strength of 20mg/ml, and every product must be notified to the MHRA and published before it can be sold. These limits explain why tanks on sale in the UK are smaller than some versions sold elsewhere, and why the community talks so much about compliant versions of a given device.

Shortfills, a format born from the 10ml limit

The 10ml cap also produced a format that is now part of the common vocabulary of UK vaping. A shortfill is a larger bottle of nicotine-free e-liquid, usually 50ml or 100ml, sold in a slightly bigger bottle so a 10ml nicotine shot can be added. UK maker IVG explains that the format exists precisely because nicotine-containing bottles are limited to 10ml, while a nicotine-free bottle is not.

The calculation is simple. 50ml of liquid plus one 10ml shot at 18mg/ml gives 180mg of nicotine across 60ml, or 3mg/ml. Knowing how to read that kind of ratio is one of the quiet skills that separates hobbyists from occasional users.

Forums, reviews and trade shows

The culture also lives offline and in long-form online content. Trade shows and expos bring manufacturers, retailers and enthusiasts together around new products, and serve as places where knowledge is passed on.

Online, forums and review channels play a similar role. Recommendations travel fast, and a reviewer's reputation is built on consistency and technical accuracy. The hardware choices discussed there feed into the wider vape trends for 2026 that the rest of the market follows.

Behind these exchanges lies a shared vocabulary that newcomers have to learn, from MTL and DTL to wicking, ohms and ratios. Explaining the difference between a compact pod and a larger setup is one of the most common threads, a topic covered in our comparison of pod or box mod formats.

The device as a designed object

Design has become a central argument for manufacturers. Metal finishes, colour screens and carefully chosen colourways show that devices are now treated as designed objects rather than purely utilitarian ones. A UK retailer's guide to vape culture also points to personalisation options such as engraving and custom artwork.

This attention to design is part of contemporary vape culture, but it says more about how the industry presents its products than about how people should use them. For the hobbyist community, the object matters because of the build quality, the settings and the knowledge it allows people to share.

FAQ

A few questions come up often about the history and vocabulary of vaping. Here are short answers.

Who invented the modern e-cigarette?

Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik is credited with the modern e-cigarette. Patents were filed on the basis of a 2003 application in China, and the first devices, called Ruyan, were made in 2004.

What do MTL and DTL mean?

MTL stands for mouth to lung, a tight draw in which vapour is held in the mouth first, typical of pods. DTL stands for direct to lung, an open draw taken straight into the lungs, typical of sub-ohm tanks.

Do you need advanced hardware to take part in vape culture?

No. Much of the culture is about knowledge, vocabulary and the exchange of information, from forum threads to recipe sharing. Advanced setups belong to specific groups such as cloud chasers and coil builders.

Mainly on blogs, forums, social platforms and video channels, where DIY mixers publish recipes and reviewers compare devices. Shops and trade shows remain the main places to meet in person.

Does vape culture change quickly?

Yes. It follows the pace of new hardware, changes in regulation and shifts in flavour preferences, with trends that renew themselves every year.

What vape culture says about vaping in 2026

Far from being a passing trend, this culture reflects a lasting appropriation of the device by adult hobbyists. Tribes with distinct interests, a vocabulary shaped by UK rules, forums that pass on technical knowledge and an industry that treats devices as designed objects all coexist. Following vape culture means watching a field in constant motion, where technique, taste and regulation meet.

Independent editorial content for adults only, not a recommendation to buy. Vaping products can contain nicotine, which is a highly addictive substance. Nicotine vaping products are not for sale to anyone under 18 in the UK.