It is becoming more and more difficult to brush e-cigarettes off as a fad or a small niche market. Sales of e-cigarettes have exploded over the last couple years, and this month, the CDC released national statistics from Poison Control Centers showing that poisoning calls relating to E-cigarettes have seen an alarming increase.
Calls to poison control regarding E-cig’s have risen from 1 call per month in 2010 to 215 calls per month as of February 2014. More than half of the calls involved young children under 5. The most common symptoms associated with the calls were vomiting, nausea, and eye irritation.
Poisoning from e-cigarettes comes from contact with the concentrated nicotine liquid which is used to refill an e-cigarette. Poisoning can occur in one of three ways: ingestion, inhalation, or absorption through the skin or eyes.
You can find out more in the CDC’s Morbitiy and Mortality Weekly Report for April 4, 2014 at www.cdc.gov/mmwr.
Number of calls to poison centers for cigarette or e-cigarette exposures, by month —
United States, September 2010–February 2014
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