Use your e-cig with the accessories designed particular for your model
E-cigarettes have become part of our daily lives and the industry has grown exponentially in these last few months. With only a fraction of the cost of a year’s supply of tobacco cigs, they have become accessible to more and more smokers trying to quit their hazardous habit. They come in all shapes and sizes and the range of flavors today is simply mind-blowing. But while using the same recharging principle as our mobile phones, with no legislation on standardizing adapters, it’s always crucial to only use the e-cig accessories provided in your starter kit rather than borrowing from friends or using devices meant for other types of products.
A woman was severely burnt when her e-cigarette exploded in the middle of the night, while being plugged into her phone charger. Miss May, from Tenby, Pembrokeshire, has been fighting with her smoking habit for almost 12 months and purchased two ecigs from a local store. After returning from a weekend with her friends, she put her eGo to recharge but as she misplaced the original adapter, she used the one designed for her iPad. As this charger was too powerful for the e-cig to cope with it, Miss May woke up at 1am and began screaming and shouting 'fire, fire,' waking her father and twin sister Leila.
She declared it 'exploded like a bullet', sending four-foot flames blazing around her bedroom.
'The flames were crackling and roaring on my duvet and dressing table, I jumped out of bed and threw a suitcase over them. If I had been asleep for five more minutes I would have burned to death. I would say to people not to use a phone charger. With USBs you assume they are universal for any gadget - but that is dangerous.'
The girl, who was burnt by the melting plastic, was taken to Morriston Hospital in Swansea, where she was cared for third-degree burns to her members and belly.
Another girl, Laura Baty, 18, barmaid at Buck Inn Hotel in Richmond, North Yorkshire, ducked for cover when an e-cigarette exploded in the busy pub.
‘I started crying hysterically and my arm was all black. My dress caught on fire as I ran away and I just didn't know what was happening,’ she said.
Her colleague, Bartender Stewart Paterson, 21, who is trying to quit smoking, said he has used his iPad charger for this ‘countless times before.’
Thankfully, both girls managed to escape only with some minor scars and a horrible scare, but the events fueled the e-cig opposition in regard with the general safety of these devices, with very little attention given to the cause. Phone and tablet chargers are not optimized to work with electronic cigarettes, which have entirely different voltage requirements and capacities. This is why it’s imperative to always use the equipment supplied by your vendor and never make any sort of compromise in this matter. Also never let your ecig to recharge all night long and don’t leave it unsupervised. If you notice that the device gets very hot after being plugged for a couple of hours, stop using it and call the vendor for advice.