e-cigarette injury

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A class action failure-to-warn lawsuit against e-cigarette companies was thrown out by the Central District Court of California last week. The suit, filed by plaintiffs from CA, IL, and NY, included claims that the accused companies, including Lorillard Tobacco Co. and Reynolds American Inc. (which bought Lorillard in 2014), deceptively advertised the health benefits of e-cig products over traditional cigarettes.

The judge ruled federal law superceded state regulations citing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s rule making e-cigarettes subject to the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. Under Federal law tobacco products only need to carry a warning regarding the addictive properties of nicotine. States cannot mandate stricter labeling requirements.

The only claim that appears to have survived is…
Continue Reading E-Cigarette Class Action Suit Stymied by Federal Law

Over the past weekend a young girl was injured in yet another e-cigarette explosion. The vaping device burst into flames in the pocket of a nearby person on an adventure ride at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Caroline Saylor, 14, received first and second degree burns to her face, arm and leg when the flames “shot out” from the neighboring seat. Conflicting reports suggest the man and his friends ran off after it happened. Without access to the defective vaping device it is impossible to determine whether the product mechanism was defective or whether there was misuse by the user. In either event, this incident is further evidence of a consumer safety issue that is being flippantly dismissed by the profit-seeking e-cig industry.
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Continue Reading Another E-Cig Explosion—Who is Responsible?

Sunday there was yet another e-cigarette lithium battery explosion—this time in woman’s purse while she was shopping. Mara McInerney’s handbag exploded with the sound of a “gunshot,” pouring thick black smoke and sending other shoppers scurrying away from the blast. It was the 15th anniversary of 9/11, a day when people’s nerves were already on edge. According to an NBC 4 New York article, McInerney was terrified; “It was 9/11. I thought someone had put something in my bag.” It turned out the lithium battery in her vaporizer exploded burning her designer bag into fragments. Luckily the flaming bag didn’t burn her hands and face as well. The New Jersey woman is even more thankful it didn’t explode while her four year old daughter was reaching into the bag to get a toy or a piece of candy.

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Continue Reading E-Cigarette Explodes in Woman’s Purse

In Albertville, Alabama, a 10th grade student noticed his e-cigarette case was getting hot. He took it out of his pocket and placed it on a nearby desk where it promptly exploded. He escaped injury but a nearby student wasn’t so lucky. He was hospitalized with burns to his face and neck.
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Continue Reading Another Student Burned by E-Cigarette—This Time During School

Don George of Los Angeles, a retired Air Force veteran, is the latest example of the dangers associated with use of an e-cigarette. George recently filed suit in Los Angeles after being injured when the e-cigarette’s battery exploded, causing permanent scaring to his face and arm. Further, George claims that he had recently changed the battery prior to the explosion, but the device still continued to not work. While trying to determine what was wrong with his e-cigarette, George held the device near his ear in an attempt to hear if the mechanics inside sounded like they were working.

Without further warning, the batter exploded in George’s face. According to him, flames began to shoot from the bottom of the e-cigarette’s battery, burning his face, shoulder, and part of his home’s carpet.…

Continue Reading E-Cigarette Battery Injures Air Force Veteran

From 2013 to 2014, the global market for e-cigarettes and e-liquids has nearly doubled to $6 billion, with the U.S. accounting for nearly half that amount. That is a staggering number in sales for an otherwise relatively new product. Overall, the e-cigarette industry markets their product as the safe alternative to smoking, and even claims to help facilitate the process to quit. This increase in sales clearly indicates that their marketing is working.

Many individuals, including myself, have stood at a convenience store counter and thought, “I’ll buy an e-cigarette today. Maybe it’ll help me quit smoking, or at least it will be healthier than smoking a real cigarette.” Unfortunately, those assumptions might not be as accurate as we previously hoped.

A recent study published by JAMA Pediatrics questioned the safety of e-cigarettes. The study sampled over 45,000 children from Hong Kong with an average age of 15 years old and revealed that 40% of teenagers who smoked either traditional cigarettes or e-cigarettes suffered from various respiratory symptoms when compared to those who have not smoked either traditional or electronic cigarettes.…

Continue Reading Respiratory Problems Another Potential Hazard for E-Cigarette Users

You read that correctly. The so-called “safe” alternative to cigarettes can used to start a fire—not intentionally, of course. Unfortunately for a man from North Bay, Alabama, the fire started after he attempted to smoke his e-cigarette. Reports indicate that while the man was using the e-cigarette, it exploded in his mouth and the resulting…

In one word: carcinogens.

There has been a general misconception that smoking an e-cigarette means that you are only inhaling nicotine and water vapor. This misconception is what e-cigarette companies want us to believe. They want us to believe that smoking an e-cigarette is safe. They want us to believe that their e-cigarettes do not…

Studies have shown that approximately 20 million Americans use, or have used, an e-cigarette. This particular worldwide industry is estimated to be worth over $3 billion annually, and some estimates project that the industry will be worth over $10 billion by 2017. Furthermore, the e-cigarette industry advertises their product as a “safe” alternative to actual…