Vaping addiction continues to impact millions, especially youth. But what if there was a way to tackle the behavioral cravings without the nicotine, smoke, or batteries? We sat down with Brendan Wang, founder and CEO of CAPNOS, to learn more about his journey, the innovation behind CAPNOS, and how his company is helping people around the world quit vaping for good.
Raveival: Would you be able to introduce yourself and your company?
BW: Yes, my name is Brendan Wang. I’m the Founder and CEO of CAPNOS.I started vaping at the age of 14 and was addicted for over five years.
So in 2019, I started CAPNOS to address the behavioral craving to solve for sensory dependencies that exist with vaping or smoking behaviors.
We launched CAPNOS in 2022. Starting off with the CAPNOS Zero—the world’s first flavored pressurized air inhaler device. We have shipped over 90,000 CAPNOS devices to over 93 countries. Since then, we have recently launched on Walmart Marketplace. We now have value and premium device lines. With the goal to increase research efforts, with academic programs to eventually work with health insurers and quit programs. The goal with CAPNOS is to help one million people quit vaping by 2027.
Raveival: Wow, that is super incredible. It sounds like you’ve made a lot of progress. You mentioned 93,000 vapes. Is that correct? So what would you call it again? A pressurized air… something?
BW: Yeah, we describe CAPNOS devices as flavored pressurized air inhalers. There is zero smoke, zero nicotine, and zero battery. The way it works is that a silicone valve pops open with every inhale, which creates a pressurized throat hit sensation similar to vaping. There is no battery, so no heat is being generated. Flavor wicks made of cotton are optionally soaked with natural extracts to then be picked up through the olfactory system or sense of smell for the aroma.
Raveival: Wow, that’s super interesting. That’s really cool. Have you heard of any particularly memorable success stories from CAPNOS users?
BW: We have over a thousand reviews from customers all over the world. There are people who have struggled with smoking, who transitioned to vaping, and then transitioned to zeroing with CAPNOS devices, who have been able to successfully overcome their vaping reduction goals. In a 2024 survey working with academic colleagues, we were able to learn from 220 consumers of CAPNOS that over half of them were able to successfully achieve their vaping reduction or elimination goals. As for individual stories, I hear from pregnant mothers, youth, or even patients awaiting clinical procedures who have been able to successfully quit vaping or smoking using CAPNOS. It’s super rewarding hearing those stories, which is why we continue to advocate for greater accessibility for physical behavioral tools to continue to help people at any stage of their life looking for assistance.
Raveival: That’s awesome. Thanks for going into that with me. I’m curious—circling back to the premium versus value prices, what is the difference?
BW: Great question. We have four starter pack devices, with two models in each line. In the value device line, we have the CAPNOS Zero and CAPNOS EZ. The Zero is made for a direct-to-lung pull, or a deep pressurized inhale. The EZ is made for a mouth-to-lung pull or a softer pressure inhale.
Cosmetically, they differ from the Zero being black and the EZ being white. But functionally, they differ from the pressure strength. Otherwise, they are in the same housing and format. In the premium device line, we offer the Lagura and BRE-Z, following a similar method of differentiation between the value devices. The key differences are that the premium options have a silicone bite cap, replaceable flavor wicks, adjustable pressure and flavor controls, a fidget crown, and a weighted, more premium, sturdy feel using aluminum and silicone—whereas our value devices are made of plastic.
Raveival: Cool. What advice would you give to someone currently trying to quit vaping but struggling to find the right tools?
BW: Something that we often look at is to first understand how prevalent the need is for addressing a sensory dependence or behavioral craving. To start, I would ask the question of: Where do you find the greatest value in vaping? Was it the nicotine buzz? Or was it the oral fixation and the hand-to-mouth motion that is the primary craving?
CAPNOS is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all device, but for those who indicate that the root cause is a sensory dependence, then I ask if vaping or smoking has been used as a coping mechanism, and if the goal is for behavior elimination, reduction, or replacement. Based off that, then we can be a bit more prescriptive to share how CAPNOS can fill in those gaps.
However, I firmly believe in educating consumers about building a greater sense of self-awareness and discipline to fulfill that reduction goal. Oftentimes, it may also be helpful to encourage the use of an NRT—or nicotine replacement therapy—in addition to using a behavioral aid. That said, everyone has different motivations, but the most important is to connect with the why—and to build a solid plan to go about quitting.
Raveival: Yeah, that’s awesome that CAPNOS fills that behavioral modification tool that was missing in the market. I’ve heard of different strategies such as the nicotine gum or the patches, but prior to CAPNOS, I had never thought about the behavioral fixation that people experience. So that’s cool that you are offering that strategy and toolset for people to help with their reduction use or elimination goals.
BW: Totally. It was time for innovation in this outdated market.
Raveival: Totally. So for those who don’t know, Brendan and I were part of the same entrepreneurship program called Future Founders. That’s where we met each other, so we are both startup founder friends. Prior to this interview, you mentioned that you are going to be at Electric Forest this year with CAPNOS. Could you share some details about that with us? I’m sure some of our readers would be interested.
BW: Certainly. CAPNOS will be a vendor in the Electric Forest venue from June 19th to the 22nd of 2025. We will be there from noon until 3am every day, ready to share more about our work and also provide CAPNOS devices for sale if you’re craving a clean alternative to vaping. We’re here for you all. And if you happen to lose your vape, but still want a replacement to fill in that gap, come find us. We’ll be happy to chat more and be contributors to the Forest experience.
Raveival: Awesome. Let me know if you guys are looking for help—I would love to be part of that mission for the festival.
BW: Yeah, I think that would be awesome, especially with what Raveival stands for in its sustainability practices. We too, believe in longevity. I personally have a philosophy for a circular economy; all my clothes are secondhand. I see an incredible opportunity for people to learn more about Raveival while also visiting the CAPNOS booth, so I’m excited to see what opportunities we have ahead.
Raveival: Awesome. Looking forward to chatting offline about this. Are there any last words that you would want to leave our readers with?
BW: We hope to see you at Forest! Keep on spreading love and positivity!