E-Cig Blows Up In Man's Face

So much for being safer. An electronic cigarette blew up in a Florida man's face, leaving him in a hospital with severe burns, missing his front teeth and a chunk of his tongue.
Fire officials said Wednesday that the man had switched to electronic cigarettes to try and quit smoking, and that the scary situation was caused by a faulty battery.
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In 2010, the FDA sent letters to some e-cigarette makers for violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act including "violations of good manufacturing practices, making unsubstantiated drug claims and using the devices as delivery mechanisms for active pharmaceutical ingredients," according to the FDA website.

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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_...plodes-in-mans-mouth-causes-serious-injuries/

The FDA sent letters. I'm sure that makes this guy who's missing part of his face feel better.

When you take out the teeth out of regulation and trust corporate mouthpieces this is what happens.

This guy is going to get a huge payout, but you couldn't pay me enough money to light a firecracker in my mouth...hahaha.

I still can't believe that smaller doses of nicotine would help anyone quit. It's like giving someone a little coke to kick the habit.

Step down programs tend to work best for addictions though as it's a way to make the withdrawal symptoms less sever by gradually cutting back to zero vs. just quitting cold turkey.

So gradually reducing nicotine is in a similar vein (no pun intended!) to a step down methadone program for heroine addicts.

[quote name='dmaul1114']Step down programs tend to work best for addictions though as it's a way to make the withdrawal symptoms less sever by gradually cutting back to zero vs. just quitting cold turkey.

So gradually reducing nicotine is in a similar vein (no pun intended!) to a step down methadone program for heroine addicts.[/QUOTE]

I agree, I was addicted to Xena when it was on tv.:lol:

On the serious though, I just meant with nicotine. I don't think there's a methadone equivalent of nicotine besides food and sugar. Thankfully, I didn't get fat when I quit smoking...haha.

Sure, but that doesn't matter really. Hell, heroin treatment programs would probably be more effective if they could use heroin to step them down rather than methadone, they just can't since heroin is illegal.

With nicotine you don't need a substitute and can just gradually go down in the amount of nicotine consumed per day to minimize side effects and make it easier to quit.

Hell, it's even true with caffeine for people who consume a ton. Quitting cold turkey brings headaches, being lethargic all day etc. so it's easier to drop one cup of coffee etc. per day every week or two to ween yourself off of it.

Hm. Dunno how much truth there is to this, obviously, but Consumerist ran an article where someone commented and linked to some e-cig forum where someone claims to have called the fire inspector investigating this case... yeah, I know, very reliable source and all...

However, apparently, this guy appears to have modified the battery in his e-cig. According to more official reports, he's been using e-cigs for two years. Reading up a bit about the battery modifications (which manufacturers warn you not to do), apparently they're fairly common for long-time users so they can get more out of their e-cig.

[quote name='dmaul1114']Sure, but that doesn't matter really. Hell, heroin treatment programs would probably be more effective if they could use heroin to step them down rather than methadone, they just can't since heroin is illegal.

With nicotine you don't need a substitute and can just gradually go down in the amount of nicotine consumed per day to minimize side effects and make it easier to quit.

Hell, it's even true with caffeine for people who consume a ton. Quitting cold turkey brings headaches, being lethargic all day etc. so it's easier to drop one cup of coffee etc. per day every week or two to ween yourself off of it.[/QUOTE]

But where's the science behind that applying to nicotine addiction? There is no official organization stepping up to the plate claiming that ecigs help you quit - not even the industry itself.

The industry does not claim electronic cigarettes allow smokers to kick the habit, just that they are a healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes because they have fewer chemicals, Kiklas said.

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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_...plodes-in-mans-mouth-causes-serious-injuries/

But we don't even know if they do have fewer chemicals because ecigs are unregulated.

I wasn't talking about ecigs really. Just things like the patch, nicotine gum etc.

I could see something like ecigs helping if they were marketed as a quit smoking aid, and they sold pre-sized refills that gradually reduce nicotine etc. as it would get at both the withdrawal symptoms and the oral fixation.

Or course ecig makers don't want that as they want to keep people addicted to nicotine and buying their product.

Been using my vaporizers for about a year now. It's been several months since my last cigarette and I've never had a battery explode on me. Of course I also use protected single batteries as anyone with common sense should so...

[quote name='dmaul1114']Sure, but that doesn't matter really. Hell, heroin treatment programs would probably be more effective if they could use heroin to step them down rather than methadone, they just can't since heroin is illegal.
[/QUOTE]
The benefit to methadone is its long half life (~24 hours for methadone and on the order or minutes to ~1 hour for heroin). That's why methadone clinics can get away with handing out doses once per day. Theoretically, it should also lead to a smoother withdrawal... anecdotally, I've seen plenty of people who tell me that methadone withdrawal is quite uncomfortable. Many people on methadone tend to take it long term (maintenance programs)... suboxone (buprenorphine), a partial opiate receptor agonist, is another option, too... though, in theory, any opiate would work.

Of course, that only addresses the physiological basis of addiction... in my experience, there is always a large psychological component that needs to be treated as well...

With nicotine you don't need a substitute and can just gradually go down in the amount of nicotine consumed per day to minimize side effects and make it easier to quit.

Hell, it's even true with caffeine for people who consume a ton. Quitting cold turkey brings headaches, being lethargic all day etc. so it's easier to drop one cup of coffee etc. per day every week or two to ween yourself off of it.

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In addition to the nicotine products (gum, patch, lozenges, inhalers), some people also benefit from zyban (buproprion) and chantix (varenicline). The latter of these is a partial nicotine agonist (activates the receptor, but not as strongly, while outcompeting nictonine and lessening its effect).

The E-cigs have not been FDA tested and are variable... in theory, they should work, but there is no evidence for that and the doses of nicotine in them are not regulated.

The story about the E-cig blowing up in someone's face reminds me of ppl I've seen in the burn unit who tried to mix using oxygen from their nasal cannula and smoking...

Thought about making a new thread but bumping this is good enough.

Was a half-pack-a-day smoker for several years until a friend recommended this electronic doohickey.  I bought an eGo kit back in February of this year and have been nearly 100% smoke-free since then.  My only "slip up" was intentional, wanted to see how analogs (what vapers call standard tobacco cigarettes) felt/tasted after months of being away from them.  It tasted awful, making me wonder how I ever tolerated it for so long in the first place.

I now own two different APV (advanced personal vaporizer) mods, a handful of different style cartomizers and tanks, plus about a dozen different flavors of nicotine liquid.  I can say with 99.99% certainty that I am never going back to analogs, unless the FDA decides to do the unthinkable and over-regulate their sales.  I can understand the concerns that certain flavors appeal to children and teenagers, but that's such a fallacy -- adults don't like those flavors either?  C'mon, man.  I full anticipate the FDA will make a ruling shortly after Washington gets its act together and ends the current shutdown.

Before I continue rambling, I feel much healthier, my clothes no longer reek of smoke, my sense of smell has returned and my wallet is fatter (overall price difference is half to one third the cost of analogs in my case).  I also feel much less self conscious when using them in public areas (which I rarely do).  

I highly recommend any smokers out there that read this to give it a try.  Here is a great blog introduction if you're curious:  http://godofsteam.wordpress.com/intro-to-vaping/

There is also a massive user forum discussing everything related to vaping:  http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/

And a few subreddits on reddit as well.  That's pretty much all the resources anyone could need.

What happened to the guy in the OP's story does totally suck, I'll agree.  But these stories are so few and far between that I'll take the risk over smoking analogs without any hesitation.