A Florida man faces burns and injuries after his e-cigarette explodes.
A faulty battery caused an electronic cigarette to explode in a Florida’s man’s mouth on Monday, severely burning his face and removing some of his teeth and a chunk of his tongue, ABC News reported.
The man, which ABC News identified as Tom Holloway, 57, of Niceville, Fla., was using the device to aid him in his quest to quit smoking when it blew up.
“The best analogy is like it was trying to hold a bottle rocket in your mouth when it went off,” Joseph Parker, division chief for the North Bay Fire Department told the news station. “The battery flew out of the tube and set the closet on fire.”
The brand of e-cigarette, type of battery or age of the device remains unconfirmed. But Parker noted the battery was likely rechargeable lithium because a recharging station and other batteries found in the room.
Information on the event has been forwarded to the fire marshal’s office to include in any databases on the devices. But Parker said he has yet to hear of any similar instances.
Thomas Kiklas, co-founder of the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, told ABC News that the industry is not aware of problems with the e-cigarettes or batteries exploding. He pointed to a federal report that found 2.5 million Americans used electronic cigarettes last year. “There have been billions and billions of puffs on the cigarettes and we have not heard of this happening before,” he said.
