E-Cigarette Nicotine Poisoning Cases

(Photo credit: planetc1)

The dangers of E-cigarettes continue to be in the spotlight after a report that a 10-month-old infant was rushed to the emergency room after swallowing E-cigarette nicotine liquid, adding to the ever growing number of children who have been poisoned by exposure to nicotine solution, according to The New England Journal of Medicine. Fortunately, the baby survived the ordeal despite vomiting and losing muscle control, yet this incident is testament to the potential hazards that come with the seemingly innocuous E-cigarettes.

The doctors point out that “One teaspoon of a 1.8 percent nicotine solution could be lethal,” not just to children, but to a person who weighs 200 pounds.

“With the growing use of e-cigarettes, physicians need to be alert for nicotine poisoning,” the doctors wrote. “They also need to educate patients and parents about this danger and advocate for measures that will help prevent potentially fatal liquid nicotine poisoning of infants and young children.”

The infant case is not an isolated event, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported an influx in poison control center phone calls related to E-cigarette solution. In February, 215 (about half involving children) calls were made to poison control centers, compared with about one per month in 2010.

E-cigarette nicotine infused liquids are not sold in child-protective packaging. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director (CDC), Dr. Tom Frieden says that E-cigarettes are as dangerous as regular cigarettes, but with the rise of poisonings E-cigarettes may be more dangerous by and large.

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