Pictured on the left is the cigarette after explosion. The bottom piece in this picture that shows 3 separate pieces, is the interior of the cigarette plainly showing exposed wires on the far right. This photo was taken via celphone and was uploaded to mypics via verizon wireless and then loaded to this site and the factoidz site that I write for. This happened March 2009 in a Ft. Lauderdale hotel room while traveling. The picture was then sent to the saleswoman within minutes of the explosion, and can easily be verified via verizons records if someone would like to challenge the dangers of this product at the time of which I used it. I promote healthier living, and support people in quitting smoking. This is a situation that happened to me, in no way am I saying never use one. Im just saying be careful. When charging, be present. etc.
I purchased an electronic cigarette last year, and can vouch for the fact that they are dangerous. At least this particular one was. They will aid in reducing or even quitting smoking, however there is a danger that hasn’t been spoken of. In fact, the woman who sold me mine was featured on WBNS news promoting the cigarette within days of this one exploding. When I emailed the reporter and explained my situation with the cigarette, I was ignored. They had aired a segment telling how great they were, apparently they didn’t want to return within a week speaking of this incident. That, or it was for law purposes. Most likely they were avoiding being sued by those that sell the product, for projecting a negative image.
Electronic cigarettes give the same sensation as a real cigarette. You inhale and exhale a mist, along with the level of nicotine you prefer. The nicotine cartridges come in 3 strengths. For me personally, I preferred the medium strength. I loved that little cigarette and was temporarily saddened the day our smoking affair had ended, in a Ft. Lauderdale hotel room.
I had been using the cigarette for about 3 weeks. After the first week nicotine began to leak out of the metal structure and the LED no longer worked, so the saleswoman replaced it. The new one seemed to be working fine, until about week 2. As I sat in my hotel room on vacation with my children I caught a whiff of a unique odor. Having been through a fire or two in my life, I can smell potential fires from afar. And that is what I smelled.
Upon entering the other room there was a haze, and I unplugged the electronic cigarette from the charger. As I unplugged the charger from the wall, and removed the cigarette from the charger it exploded. There were red and green wires hanging out of it, and an awful aroma of burnt plastic. I became paranoid about the wires, I was boarding a cruise the next day to leave the country. And this once safe electronic cigarette now looked like a bomb. How would I make it in and out of the country with such a thing? If I throw it away I will never see that $160.00 refund. I sent her a photo of the cigarette just in case I had to toss it.
Needless to say I made it back home with it. I got my refund and I found it odd for that saleswoman to be on the news promoting this product. I had gone though two, in 3 short weeks. After one nearly caught a high rise hotel on fire, here she is on the news talking about how great they are just a few days after I returned my second one.
The Empoweror 
Looking at this picture in depth shows no scorch marks, no carbon scoring, no form of melted plastic. Had the battery itself exploded, or burned, even for a second, there would be substantial damage to the battery housing, for it is only foiled plastic, and the heat of a lithium ion fire is substantial enough to turn tinfoil and some plate metals into slag.
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More dangerous than what? Than *smoking*? Are you kidding?
Millions of e-cigarettes have been sold since 2004. Just how many have “exploded”? How many people have been hurt? Were *you* hurt? Did you do any research at all, or did you just decide to extend your single, personal, rather inconsequential experience to the whole of the millions of people who use e-cigarettes?
Warning people of danger/risks is a good and useful thing. Overblowing danger/risks is not–and in this case, could dissuade smokers from trying something that might save their lives.
More than 400,000 people die every year in this country from smoking-related illnesses–never mind the number of fires/deaths/injuries caused from lit cigarettes.
Are you understanding any of this?
Everything we do carries risks. Everything. Riding a bicycle carries a risk. People are hurt every day riding bicycles. Do we then decide that no one should ride a bicycle?
Try this. It’s from tobaccoharmreduction.org and written by people who actually think things through before hitting the send button:
“Can’t I be 100% safe?
– no.
If you find yourself dealing with someone who seems to be insisting that comparative risk does not matter – that a lot better is not good enough and therefore not worth pursuing – think about this.
Eating more fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of stomach and colon cancers and is beneficial in many other ways. Yet this too is not without its own dangers. There are a fair number of cases of foodborne disease that are traced to plant foods, some of which are fatal. People die from allergic reactions to fruits. Fruits and vegetables contain pesticides (some natural, some not) and other organic chemicals, heavy metals (calcium, lead), and even radioactive isotopes that probably sometimes cause cancers and other diseases.
Though you are much better off (or safer) eating more fruits and vegetables rather than less, it is not perfect. But, it is still very good.”
And think about this, too: If even one smoker reads this and decides to keep smoking instead of trying what for millions of people is the *only* viable alternative to smoking there’s ever been–an e-cigarette–it will be your fault.
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Hi Angela,
Sorry to hear of your trouble! I have been using various e-Cig products for nearly a year now, and I have to say this is the first time I have heard of a non-modified e-Cig venting in such a manner. While I do not doubt what happened to you, I do think declaring all e-Cigs as “DANGEROURS!” is quite unfair and perhaps more than a little bit irresponsible. *All* electronic devices have inherit dangers associated with them – in other words, while they *can* be dangerous, by-and-large, they are not. You obviously received a defective product, and that’s unfortunate, but please do not mislead people – people like yourself, looking for an alternative to smoking tobacco cigarettes – by indicting all e-Cigs as “DANGEROUS!”
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The battery didnt explode, the contents inside the metal structure did when removing after smelling the “burnt wure” smell
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I dont declare them all as dangerous. Everything has dangers. They are by far safer than real cigarettes. Im saying, be present when charging to prevent fire if you were to purchase a “faulty” one. I purchased two different models from the company. Both models were broke in different ways.
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wire, not wure lol
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That picture is hard to see. It was taken with hotel room lighting on a cellular phone that had no flash.
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The SmokeGenie e-cigarette looks and tastes like a
real cigarette, but without the odor, or harmful tar. Be smoke free and still enjoy smoking!
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I’ve got a picture of unicorns frolicing in a hotel room but I took the photo on a cell phone with no flash so you can’t see them.
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Or you could just stop smoking ?? $160.00 ARE YOU SERIOUS ??? Smoke American spirits or use a one hitter and smoke lil bits until you can stop… AS well you MUST publish that Dirty Laundry (or let me read it) I THINK IT WILL HELP TONS OF PEOPLE!!!
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Yeah… Stopping smoking is the solution. Those electronic ones are around 100 bucks usually, some cheaper. I bought this deluxe kit with extra cartridges etc.
Thanks for the push for my book Dirty Laundry… I have a good feeling about that one. It won’t be long. I have a huge list of projects 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
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Sweet! Can I see it?
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I’m glad to have visited your blog and good to know you! I find it interesting and informative.Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts about how to make your readers better bloggers.
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The only working substance in the E-Cigarette is nicotine. E-Cigarette cartridges come in several different strengths which means you can control the nicotine content. Smokers wanting to kick the habit completely will find this is a great way to handle cravings
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Thank you so much! I hope you come back often. If there is anything specific you would like to read, let me know.
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