An electronic smoking device is any device that uses an electric heating element — instead of a flame — to combust dry herb and produce real smoke. It burns; it does not vaporize. It is true combustion, not vaping. "Electronic bong" is the most familiar name for one, but it describes a single form factor. The electronic smoking device is the whole class above it: the tabletop eBong, the handheld electric herb pipe, the electric bubbler — every device that trades the lighter for a button. This page defines the category, maps the forms it takes, and draws the line that matters most: electronic smoking is combustion, not vaping.
Electronic smoking device, defined
An electronic smoking device — also called an electronic smoker, an electronic flower smoker, or an electric smoking device — is a smoking device that ignites dry herb with electricity rather than an open flame. You load the bowl, press a button, and an electric element heats the material past its ignition point. The herb combusts, and you draw real smoke. The word "electronic" describes the ignition, not the output: the smoke is the same smoke a flame would produce. What changes is everything around the flame — there's no lighter, no torch, nothing to blow out.
This is the umbrella term the rest of the category sits under. The electronic bong (eBong) is the flagship and most-searched form of electronic smoking device, but the class is broader than any one shape. Hold on to one idea and the whole category falls into place: an electronic smoking device replaces the flame with an element, and nothing else.
The forms an electronic smoking device takes
Every device in this class shares the same engine — electric ignition of dry herb — and differs only in body. Choose by setting, not by mechanism:
| Form factor | What it is | Water filtration | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| eBong (electronic bong) | Tabletop water pipe with an electric bowl | Yes | Smooth, cooled sessions at home or on the boat |
| Electric herb pipe | Pocketable handheld with the same flameless burn | No | On the trail, in the wind, on the go |
| Electric bubbler | Mid-size handheld water pipe | Yes (small chamber) | A cooler draw than a pipe, smaller than a bong |
All three are electronic smoking devices; all three are part of the eBong family. The names "electronic smoker" and "electronic flower smoker" describe the same devices — they simply emphasize that the material is dry cannabis flower, combusted, not concentrate, and not vapor.
How an electronic smoking device works
There is no flame anywhere in the device. In its place is an electric heating element that does exactly what a flame does — deliver enough heat to ignite the herb — through electrical resistance instead of burning gas:
- Load the bowl. Pack ground dry herb into the chamber above the element.
- Press the button. The element climbs to combustion temperature in seconds. This one-touch ignition is what we call push-button smoking — the lighter and torch, replaced by a button.
- True combustion. The herb crosses its ignition point and burns, producing genuine smoke. On a tabletop eBong that smoke is then drawn through water; on a handheld it travels a short dry path.
The full mechanism — temperatures, why an element can combust without a flame, and how that differs from a vaporizer's heat — is on how electric combustion works.
Electronic smoking is not electronic vaping
This is the distinction the whole category depends on, and it's where the name trips people up. "Electronic" makes people think "vape." It isn't one. An electronic smoking device deliberately crosses the burn point to make smoke; a dry-herb vaporizer deliberately stays below it to make vapor. Same kind of electric element, opposite goal. We never call an eBong a vape, because it isn't — it's an electric combustion device. The full breakdown is vaping vs combustion.
One more line worth keeping straight: concentrate hardware — electric dab rigs, e-rigs, dab straws, nectar collectors — is also electrically heated, but it vaporizes wax and oil rather than combusting dry herb. It's a related, useful class, and this hub covers it honestly, but it is not an electronic smoking device in the combustion sense. If it makes vapor, it isn't smoking; if it burns flower, it is.
What makes the class genuinely new: no flame
Every flame-based method — lighter, match, torch, hemp wick — fails in the same place: the flame. Wind snuffs it, water drowns it, cold thins the fuel. An electric element has none of those weaknesses. Take the flame out of the equation and the whole class of device gains a property a lighter can never have: it can't be beaten by wind or water. Windproof, waterproof and flameless aren't features bolted onto one product — they're the shared birthright of every electronic smoking device, a direct consequence of how the heat is made. That's why these devices travel to the boat, the trail, the campsite and the slopes. See the windproof, waterproof smoking use cases.
Choosing an electronic smoking device
Because the category is new, the devices vary more than the marketing suggests — element type, battery life, how the bowl handles water and resin, build quality. The buyer's guide covers the seven criteria that actually separate a solid electronic smoking device from a gimmick, regardless of which form factor you choose. When you're ready to see real devices and the brands making them, the routing layer points the way.
Electronic smoking device FAQ
Is an electronic smoking device a vape?
No. An electronic smoking device combusts dry herb with an electric element and produces real smoke. A vape (vaporizer) stays below the burn point to make vapor. Electronic smoking is combustion, not vaping.
What's the difference between an electronic smoking device and an electronic bong?
"Electronic bong" is one form factor — a tabletop, water-filtered electronic smoking device. "Electronic smoking device" is the whole class, which also includes the handheld electric herb pipe and the electric bubbler.
What goes in an electronic smoking device?
Dry herb (cannabis flower), which is why it's also called an electronic flower smoker. For concentrate, you want an electric dab rig instead — a different, vapor-producing device.
Why is it windproof and waterproof?
Because it ignites with an electric element instead of an open flame, there's no flame for wind to blow out or water to extinguish. Treat any specific water-resistance rating as device-specific.
Want to see electronic smoking devices and where to get one? Browse the range and find a brand near you. 21+ only; follow your local laws.