Exploding e-cigarette kills 24-year-old Texas man

[Judi Lynn]

Source: BBC News

8 hours ago



WILLIAM BROWN/FACEBOOK

William Brown died after a vape pen exploded while he attempted to use it.


An exploding vaporiser pen resulted in the death of a 24-year-old Texas man, a post-mortem examination has ruled.

The pen's battery blew up when William Brown tried to use it, sending shards of metal into his face and neck and severing an artery.

He died two days later in hospital of a stroke, in what is at least the second such death in the US.

Malfunctioning e-cigarette batteries have caused hundreds to thousands of similar injuries, US reports say.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office found on Tuesday that shrapnel from the vape pen's exploding battery impacted Mr Brown's skull, severed his carotid artery and ultimately caused his death on 29 January.


Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47136678

[yuiyoshida]

1. crap, looks like

I will be sticking with my weed pipe,....I no longer trust any vape made in this country.

[jcgoldie]

2. "hundreds of thousands of similar injuries"

whoa..?

[hedda_foil]

3. You misread it. It says "hundred TO thousands. Whew! 😳

[ToxMarz]

4. Hundreds "to" thousands

[flotsam]

5. Total BS

Both guys are not just "vaping" but rather they are doing the vape equivalent of "rolling coal". In each case they were using modified systems lacking the safety features incorporated in basic e- cigs. To get the devices that killed them you have to read and agree to a disclaimer stating you know that safety devices are turned off...

[montana_hazeleyes]

7. What does rolling coal mean?

[flotsam]

9. It's a right wing game

You take a diesel powered truck and bypass computer emission controls and the drive while blowing black exhaust (usually onto Priuses or cars with ecological stickers.) These guys were not vaping to replace cigarrette use but rather to impress with the size of their smoke.

[TheBlackAdder]

11. So, instead of looking pathetic hipster follower, they opt for the complete asshole vaper package?

[montana_hazeleyes]

14. Thanks for the info and videos flotsam.

[ToxMarz]

6. The explosions happen mostly with the type called Mechanical mods

They are more primative almost homemade type vapes. The typical commercial products are relatively safe, as safe as your cell phone.

[BigmanPigman]

10. Whew, I was getting second thoughts about using my vaping pen

for weed. Thanks for the info.

[Honeycombe8]

8. How tragic. Looks like those need to be pulled off the market. nt

[Major Nikon]

12. Happens with cell phones also

[KY_EnviroGuy]

13. K&R & thanks. Yes, and from car and aircraft batteries to high-powered flashlights.

Like a can of gasoline or bottle of propane, a battery is stored energy with the potential to be suddenly released if used improperly.

E-cigarettes likely saved my life several years back. I've been though dozens of batteries of all types, and I've never had a dangerous event with a single one.

Humans will eventually and invariably abuse and over-commercialize anything good and screw it up.......

[Major Nikon]

16. It's good to know the risks and what you can do to mitigate them

There's also risks associated with cigarettes, like dying of lung cancer.

[MicaelS]

15. Absolutely not.

As others have indicated, they were using unauthorized modifications. It would be like saying cars should be banned because someone put a bunch of high performance mods on their car and then crashed and killed himself.

[haydukelives]

17. my son had a flashlight explode in his mouth several years ago

never ever put a flashlight in your mouth!

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/17/flashlight-explodes-in-colo-mans-mouth/21926663/

[Ilsa]

18. How horrible for him and his family.

Very sad.

Not relevant but the young man had movie star looks, too.

[lagomorph777]

19. Thank gods I have always been thoroughly repelled by tobacco.

Also, I guess all the exploding cigar jokes in cartoons are not accurate.

[Aussie105]

20. Spoilt by showoffs and kiddies. . .

Australia is hiking up the price of tobacco products regularly and fiercely to discourage the habit.

I swapped to an e-cig device years ago, great way to improve my health and hip pocket.

Now though, it's been spoilt by:
1. Kiddies who think it's cool to blow clouds. And get hooked on nicotine.
Importation and sale of nicotine containing juice is now illegal in most parts of Australia.

2. Stupid cloud chasers.
Bad news stories.
Crank it up, blow massive clouds, never mind you have an unprotected 1860 cell rated for 5 Amp churning out 25+ amps.
Going to go wrong sooner or later.

I have some left over juice with nicotine, my devices contain batteries rated for 25A, never go above 5A.
Enjoying it while I can.