Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia/Michael Dorausch
Sen. Schumer said the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Food and Drug Administration should even consider issuing recalls on seemingly volatile e-cigarette batteries and devices.
By Forum Staff
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today called on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take a hard look at issuing recalls on e-cigarette batteries and devices that have caught fire and exploded, injuring dozens of users.
“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire and that seems to be the case–again and again–for many popular e-cigarettes that have injured dozens of people,” said U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer. “With any other product, serious action would have been taken—and e-cigarettes should be no exception. Despite the explosions, no recalls have been issued.”
Schumer pointed to two recent incidents in New York City alone in which e-cigarette users suffered second and third-degree burns from devices that exploded in their pockets.
According to the FDA and an Associated Press chronicling from this past week, since 2009 there have been at least 92 exploding e-cigarette incidents. The AP analysis also explained that the numbers are likely undercut simply because many victims are not reporting the incidents..
E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that are designed to resemble traditional cigarettes. E-cigarettes contain a mechanism inside the device that heats up liquid nicotine and turns it into a vapor that smokers then inhale and exhale. According to Wall Street Journal report, dozens of lawsuits have been filed involving exploding e-cigarettes and many of the batteries at issue are manufactured by Chinese companies.
More than 2.5 million Americans are using e-cigarettes and that number is growing. According to the FDA, between 2009 and September of 2015, there were 92 incidents of overheating, fire or explosion in e-cigarettes in the United States. According to the FDA’s report, 45 incidents injured 47 people and 67 incidents involved property damage beyond the product. Schumer said that many incidents likely go unreported and therefore, the number of exploding e-cigarettes may be even greater.
Reports of exploding e-cigarettes have occurred throughout the country, including in New York where, a 24-year old, off-duty Bronx EMT suffered second-degree burns on his thigh and right hand when his e-cigarettes exploded in his pocket while driving. In Connecticut, a 24-year old man was badly burned when an e-cigarette exploding in his mouth while smoking. Earlier this year, an e-cigarette exploded in the face of a 14-year old Brooklyn boy at a vape shop at Kings Plaza Mall in Mill Basin. According to reports, the boy is now blind in his left eye. Metal shards from the e-cigarette’s battery penetrated both of his eyes and left a large gash on his hands.
In 2016, the FDA finalized a rule extending its regulatory authority to cover e-cigarettes, vaporizers and more. The FDA now has the power to regulate e-cigarettes under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009, which Schumer strongly backed. The new rule allows the agency to regulate e-cigarettes, like they do traditional cigarettes.
Under current law, manufacturers and importers have an obligation to report potentially hazardous products to the CPSC. Schumer said that, with public reports of dozens of incidents involving exploding e-cigarettes, the CPSC and FDA should review whether there is a pattern related to specific e-cigarette products and take immediate action by issuing recalls.
