Despite the growing number of injuries attributed to e-cigarette and vaping product use, manufacturers continue to claim the products are a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes. Recent reports dispute this, including:
- A Harvard study that showed dangerous levels of a lung-destroying chemical called diacetyl,[i]
- Cases of lung injuries and pneumonia from vaping,[ii] and,
- Evidence of devastating injuries from device fires and explosions.[iii]
Just recently, a 14 year old boy, Leor Domatov, was blinded and seriously burned as a result of an e-cigarette explosion. Domatov was shopping at an e-cigarette and vaping kiosk in Brooklyn. Despite being underage, the worker at the kiosk showed Domatov the products and plugged one in to demonstrate it. The product exploded in the eighth-grader’s hands causing devastating injuries including blindness in his left eye from a cut to the cornea, and severe burns to his hands and face. “I was shocked. I was bleeding out of my nose,’ Leor Domatov said.”[iv]
Leor Domatov is not only an example of the type of injury risk from vaping products, but also of a disturbing trend in children to embrace e-cigarettes and vaping products as a fad, not as an alternative to cigarette smoking. Rather than a replacement for an existing “nicotine addiction,” at least in non-smoking children, it could be kindling a new addiction to vaping.
The supposed “Safe Alternative” to smoking injures people in two different ways: 1) long term injuries like in cigarettes; and 2) immediate and life-altering injuries from explosions and chemical inhalation. The recent data is triggering new legislation and regulations both on the federal and state level.
If you or anyone you know has been affected by e-cigarette or vaping product use, it’s important to seek out experienced legal counsel who can maneuver through the changing legal environment to give you the best information and advice on your options.
[i] http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/gasping-for-action-b99440601z1-291548941.html
[ii] http://journal.publications.chestnet.org/article.aspx?articleid=2457240
[iii] http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/23/suppl_2/ii1.abstract
[iv] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-york-teen-badly-injured-by-exploding-e-cigarette/