A young man lost part of his teeth when an electronic cigarette exploded in his mouth. He had been using it for about a year.
Andrew Hall shared his tragic experience on Facebook and said that he did nothing he had not done before. He detailed that he lost at least 7 teeth and he had second-degree burns on his face and neck.
This is not the first time an explosion of this device is reported. In November 2016, in New York, a man was injured after a cigarette exploded in his pants.
In addition, in December 2016, in a bus in California, this device exploded in a man’s pockets
Teresita Arrieta, coordinator of the Tobacco Smoke-Free Spaces Program, from the Institute of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (IAFA), explained that these devices do not aim to fight smoking, but to be able to smoke in places where the common cigarette was not allowed.
Guillermo Araya, director of the Costa Rican Institute on Drugs (ICD), explained that these devices are also being used by young people as vaporizers, for the consumption of other substances such as marijuana.
The World Health Organization (WHO) explains that electronic nicotine delivery systems (SEAN), of which electronic cigarettes are the most common prototype, are devices that do not burn or use tobacco leaves, but instead vaporize a solution which is inhaled by the user. The main components of the solution, in addition to nicotine if present, are propylene glycol, with or without glycerol, and flavorings. Solutions and emissions contain other chemicals, some of which are considered to be toxic.