IS ANY KIND OF SMOKING SAFE?
PALISADES: A Hawaiian man is in need of dental work after having an electronic cigarette explode in his mouth while he was taking a puff.
The man is lucky to be alive after an electronic cigarette exploded in his face, destroying at least four of his teeth and leaving severe burns around his mouth.
According to local news, the explosion caused 25-year-old Matt Yamashita to lose four teeth. He also needed 40 stitches.
"As soon as I took that first rip, it just blew up in my face," Yamashita told the news. "My right hand was burning, it was black," said Yamashita. "I just heard loud ringing in both my ears and I just saw a flash then I was spitting out blood and I was just in shock."
Yamashita said he switched from smoking tobacco to electronic cigarettes five years ago. Yamashita said that he bought the e-cigarette involved in Sunday's incident roughly six months ago.
Yamashita told KHNL that he doesn’t buy e-cigarettes from the same vendor and that the e-cig that exploded was a Coil Art’s Mage. He said he is considering a lawsuit.
“I’m just feeling thankful and blessed to be alive and to be able to see and taste,” Yamashita said.
At the beginning of 2017, the FDA said it was probing the cause of exploding electronic cigarettes.
A number of e-cigarette explosions have injured other users. In 2015, a Kansas man said his e-cigarette exploded in his hand.
In 2016, a New York man had burns to his face and leg after an e-cig exploded in his pocket. That same year, a 14-year-old boy in the state was blinded in one eye when he said he was holding a device at a mall kiosk.
In January, it was reported that a 30-year-old Idaho man lost 9 teeth and had second-degree burns when an e-cigarette exploded in his mouth.
Ecigone.com has compiled a list of incidents with electronic cigarettes. According to the website, there have been 243 incidents of e-cigs exploding. Of those incidents, there have been 63 cases of electronic cigarettes exploding during use.
E-cig expert Jason Artman has compiled a list of more than 240 explosions and has spoken about what typically causes explosions in the devices.
“It was a mechanical mod which seems to be the most common device in any e-cig explosion that happens while someone is using it,” Artman said. “Basically, it’s just a battery tube with a button and it has no safety features at all. Regulated mods that have built-in safety features are the better choice even though they cost a little more.”
“Your best bet if you are going to use a mechanical mod is to use it with the tank or atomizer that came with it and be very certain you're buying your batteries from a trusted source to prevent counterfeit,” he said.
The FDA has compiled safety tips to minimize the risk of such incidents.