Perhaps not, but he WAS the inventor of the e-cigarette technology which has actually become widespread and in common use.
These patents, issued in the 50's and 60's did not result in anything useful to cigarette smokers who wanted to quit, and don't really resemble his solution to the problem.
Compare that to Hon Lik's contribution, which has resulted in explosive development of
vaping products and, more significantly, of ex-smokers who now (or used to)
vape.
Sorry, but Hon Lik was the inventor of the e-cig technology
as used today, and IMHO deserves credit for that.
Remember that you cannot patent an idea, you can only patent an implementation (with various extensions).
And that if the patents you referenced (now expired) had actually been used for an available product that helped people quit smoking, we wouldn't be having this discussion (and probably not even this forum).
Hon Lik
IS the inventor of the modern e-cigarette. More important, he actually
made it happen. Rain on his parade all you want, the guy really deserves recognition and accolades.
