Popularity isn’t the only thing that’s exploding in the electronic cigarette market. The lithium-ion batteries that power e-cigarettes, also known as vaping pens, can explode with enough force to knock out teeth and crack vertebrae. The flames that shoot out of a failed battery can cause burns that require skin grafts to heal, according to lawsuits filed on behalf of injured users.
“It was like having a firework go off in your pocket,” said Scott Becker, 46, of Washington Township, in the US. Scott suffered a third-degree burn on his right hip last year when a battery he used in his vaping pen exploded in his pocket while he was at work.
While reports suggest that there hasn’t been any deaths caused by exploding e-cigarettes, an informal poll of representatives from about 20 burn centers around the US tallied almost 300 recent burn cases that required hospitalization. Most airlines have thus banned the devices from checked baggage because of the fire risk.
