By Mary Otto
For her December story for Hawaii News Now on the case of the exploding e-cigarette, reporter Jobeth Devera interviewed e-cigarette expert Jason Artman who said the device that malfunctioned appeared to have been a type of e-cigarette known as a “mechanical mod,” which lacks circuitry to regulate the electricity that powers the device’s atomizer.
“Basically its just a battery tube with a button and it has no safety features at all.” More sophisticated and expensive e-cigarettes known as “regulated mods” have built-in safety features, according to Artman, founder and author of the website www.ecigone.com.
He cautioned Hawaii News Now viewers using “mechanical mod” type e-cigarettes to take precautions, “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.”
For his website, Artman has compiled a list of more than 240 documented e-cig explosions drawn from news reports.
In its 2017 report, the U.S. Fire Administration offers its own list of reported e-cigarette explosions and fires, useful data and this assessment of the problem:
“Fires or explosions caused by the batteries used in electronic cigarette are uncommon; however the consequences can be devastating and life-altering for the victims.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the manufacture, import, packaging, labeling, advertising, promotion, sale and distribution of e-cigarettes. The agency has taken some steps to address concerns about explosions and fires caused by the devices.
But another federal agency, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which has been involved in recalls of faulty batteries in other products, such as laptops and phones, has also taken a role in clamping down in dangerous e-cigarettes, Cheryl A. Falvey reported in a 2017 story for Retail and Consumer Products Law Observer.
In August 2017, Firewood, a vaping supplier, participated in the voluntary recall of devices under the CPSC’s fast track recall program after the company received a report of a an electrical short that caused a vaporizer battery to catch fire, Falvey wrote.
On the broader public health implications of e-cigarette safety, reporter Sheila Kaplan, in The New York Times, offered a useful summary of the findings of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine January 2018 report.
For some articulate thoughts on the research into the risks and benefits of e-cigarettes, Aaron E. Carroll wrote a 2016 piece for the New York Times tellingly titled “E-Cigarettes are Safer, But Not Exactly Safe.”
For another look, Lisa Esposito reported last year for U.S. News and World Report on the debate over e-cigarette safety.
In a 2016 report, then US Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy highlighted the potential risks of nicotine ingestion among the growing numbers of young people using them.
