A recent event to take place at London’s Euston Station has brought e-cigarette safety back into focus once more. On August 29^th, the busy London commuter hub was locked down for two hours after armed police officers rushed to the scene of a suspected bomb scare. After crowds of frightened passengers were escorted from both the mainline and underground stations, it turned out that the explosion actually came from a faulty e-cigarette.

A security alert was raised after a small explosion was reported at the station, however luckily there were no injuries reported. Although witnesses stated that police had informed them that they were being evacuated due to a suspect package, it turned out to actually be an e-cig which was emitting smoke from inside a bag on the concourse.

Injuries From Faulty E-Cigs

Although there were no reported injuries from this month’s incident, earlier this year we were brought the news of a man from Idaho, USA, whose vaping device exploded, severely burning his face and mouth, and causing him to lose seven teeth. The powerful explosion, which happened as he was vaping while getting ready to go to work, resulted in 2^nd degree facial burns with chunks of plastic embedded in his lips, throat and mouth. There was even damage to his home, with scorch marks being left on his wall and ceiling and damage to the sink.

Why Do Vaping Devices Explode?

While there have been a number of other explosion incidents involving e-cigs reported in the media, it’s important to remember that most of them have been extremely minor, and usually occurred due to the fault of the user. For example, in April 2017, a vaping device in Idaho exploded while being charged in the bedroom. The vaper was not hurt and managed to quickly put out the fire. Although it may sound alarming, it was determined that the cause was probably due to the use of an incorrect charger. Another incident which was reported from Hull, UK, involved a man who

discovered that his e-cig, which was in his pocket, had become very hot and had burned a hole in his sofa. Again, although it sounds worrying, the probable cause was that the fire button had accidentally been held down while inside his pocket.

How To Prevent An Explosion

Although the chances of having an e-cig explosion are pretty unlikely, experts still advise the vapers take all possible precautions when it comes to safety. Here are some essential tips to avoiding an explosion:

• Follow the guidelines for charging your battery – while many chargers look similar, that doesn’t mean that they are all the same. Some may deliver a current that is several amps more or less than a charger which looks identical. You should remember that chargers for many tablets and cell phones are designed to “fast charge” however e-cig batteries cannot always cope with this and this may result in overheating should the current be too high. Therefore, always use the charger supplied with your device.
• Never leave a charging e-cig unattended.
• Avoid charging your e-cig from the USB port on your computer.
• Never leave your e-cig plugged into its charger for extended periods. Always unplug once the recharge has been completed.
• Never carry your spare batteries around loose in a pocket. Always use a storage case.
• Discard any battery that has visible damage such as a damaged wrapper.
• Never allow your e-cig’s battery terminals to touch any other metal object since it will short and discharge the battery. This means you should avoid carrying a battery next to loose change or keys.
• Avoid using mech mods or use them with caution – as mech mods have very little in-built safety protections, you need to be very careful, especially when it comes to loose leads and selecting the right atomizer resistance.
• Use attachments with center pins on hybrid mods – if you own a hybrid mech mod, you should only ever use it with the atomizer or tank that it comes with. If you use a different attachment, always make sure that it features a center pin to avoid causing a short.