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E-cigarette battery catches fire on Malindo Air Flight from Kota Kinabalu to KLIA2
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AN E-CIGARETTE IS AN ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE. It is a battery-powered device that simulates smoking by heating and vaporising a liquid solution containing nicotine. Marketed as aids to quit smoking, e-cigarettes allow users to inhale a nicotine-laced vapor. But experts say not enough is known about the effect of chemicals involved, both on smokers or those around them. The market is worth about US$6billion and growing.
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29 April 2019
Many teens who use e-cigarettes aren’t aware they are inhaling nicotine when they vape, even though they are often taking in high levels of the addictive substance, a new study suggests.
Researchers who collected both survey data and urine samples from more than 500 adolescents found that 40 percent of teens who thought they were using nicotine-free products had positive urine sample tests, according to the study published Monday in Pediatrics.
“This is one of the first studies showing the amount of nicotine kids are getting from e-cigarettes,” said the study’s lead author Dr. Rachel Boykan, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics in the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. “They’re getting a lot — as much or more than they would with traditional cigarettes.”
The analysis of urine samples showed that vapers are getting plenty of nicotine even when they think they weren’t getting any, Boykan said.
Boykan and her colleagues also found that vaping teens were often using their devices with cannabis.
Experts worry that use of e-cigarettes with nicotine will produce a generation of addicted young people who may stick with vaping, or later turn to more dangerous traditional cigarettes.
Between April 2017 and April 2018, the researchers asked 517 adolescents, aged 12 to 21, to complete a questionnaire on tobacco, e-cigarette and marijuana use. Of the volunteers, 284 were also asked to provide a urine sample. The surveys and samples were collected anonymously, with the researchers connecting the two types of data through numbers assigned to each of the volunteers, who received a $5 Starbucks coupon for participating.
Nicotine levels were measured indirectly through the amount of a metabolite called cotinine found in volunteers’ urine.
Among the 517 volunteers: 13.9 percent reported ever smoking cigarettes; 36 percent reported trying e-cigarettes; and 31.3 percent reported they had tried marijuana. Only 2.9 percent reported smoking in the previous week; 14.3 percent reported e-cigarette use during the past week; and 11.4 percent reported using marijuana in the past week.
For their analysis, the researchers used data from 265 of the volunteers who had both survey and urine sample data. Among those who said they thought they were using nicotine-free products, 40 percent had significant levels of cotinine in their urine.
Cotinine levels were highest among adolescents using a newer vaping technology: pod mods. A pod mod is an e-cigarette that uses a disposable pod, or cartridge. The levels of cotinine in pod users was nearly the level seen in tobacco smokers. People who vaped older versions of e-cigarettes had much lower levels of cotinine in their urine samples.
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“Now we have this huge problem with lots of kids using these products with many not understanding what they are getting into,” said pediatrician Dr. Sharon Levy.
“Nicotine is a highly addictive substance and it’s being delivered at much higher concentrations than before,” Levy, director of the Adolescent Substance Use and Addiction Program at Boston Children’s Hospital and an associate professor of pediatrics at the Harvard Medical School, told NBC News. “So they’re getting a bigger buzz.”
Levy’s own son asked her if e-cigarettes contained “just juice flavoring” when he was in the eighth or ninth grade, she said.
Dr. Andrew Stokes, an assistant professor of global health at the Boston University School of Public Health, is alarmed by the new study.
Stokes conducted an e-cigarette study, published in February, that found an increased risk of teens who vape to eventually smoke traditional cigarettes.
In fact, vaping teens who didn’t see themselves as ever smoking at the beginning of the study were nearly nine times as likely as those who didn’t use e-cigarettes to later smoke traditional cigarettes.
“What is most alarming is the finding of significantly higher cotinine levels in those who used pod mods, a new class of cartridges on the market,” Stokes said. “And the finding that many of the kids were not aware the products contain nicotine is concerning. It suggests that this may be a pathway into nicotine addiction that the kids were not anticipating.”
…
20 November 2018
Excerpts from:
Are they safer than traditional cigarettes?
Yes. But that does not mean they are safe.
E-cigarettes contain far fewer dangerous chemicals than those released in burning tobacco. Tobacco cigarettes typically contain 7,000 chemicals, including nearly 70 known to be carcinogenic. E-cigarettes also don’t release tar, the tobacco residue that damages lungs but also contributes to the flavor of tobacco products. In the United States, cigarettes are associated with 480,000 deaths a year from coronary heart disease, stroke and numerous cancers, among other illnesses.
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Can they really help smokers quit?
It’s unclear. The Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved the marketing of e-cigarettes as smoking cessation aids. Observational studies of their effectiveness reveal mixed results. Some show that a majority of adult users are former smokers, suggesting the devices are useful in helping them quit. Others reveal that many e-cigarette users also smoke conventional cigarettes. Still others say that a large percentage of e-cigarette users, particularly teenagers, never smoked traditional cigarettes…
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What are the concerns about teenagers and e-cigarettes?
The human brain develops into the mid-20s. Researchers worry that adolescents who vape will be most affected by nicotine addiction, which they can develop with less exposure than adults require.
Though studies have not conclusively shown that e-cigarettes can be relied upon to help adult smokers quit, there is substantial evidence that teenagers who use them have a higher risk of smoking cigarettes.
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30 January 2018
New Straits Times @NST_Online
Vaping may raise cancer risk: study https://www.nst.com.my/world/2018/01/330414/vaping-may-raise-cancer-risk-study …
Vaping may raise cancer risk: study
WASHINGTON: Vaping may raise the risk of cancer because it leads to DNA damage, even though it contains fewer carcinogens than tobacco smoke, a US study has found.
The report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences did not compare the cancer-causing potential of traditional cigarettes to e-cigarettes.
However, in studies on lab mice, those exposed to e-cigarette smoke “had higher levels of DNA damage in the heart, lungs, and bladder, compared with control mice exposed to filtered air,” it said.
Similar effects were seen when human lung and bladder cells were exposed to nicotine and nicotine-derived nitrosamine ketone (NNK), a carcinogenic nicotine derivative.
These exposed cells ere more likely to mutate and become cancerous than control cells.
“Thus, although e-cigarette smoke has fewer carcinogens than tobacco smoke, E-cigarette smokers might have a higher risk than nonsmokers of developing lung and bladder cancers and heart diseases,” said the study, led by Moon-shong Tang of the Institute of Environmental Medicine at New York University.
According to outside experts, much more work is needed to uncover the true risk of vaping, which is widely seen as a safer alternative than traditional cigarettes.
Ed Stephens, senior Research Fellow at the University of St Andrews, called the report a “valuable contribution” to the field of research.
“Unfortunately, no direct comparisons were made with tobacco smoke; instead the authors cite another study that found a key biomarker related to such genetic damage to be present in very much smaller quantities (97 percent less) in the urine of vapers compared with smokers,” he added.
“That study and this new research are both consistent with the widely-held view that vaping is not without risk of cancer and other diseases, but that risk is usually considerably lower than smoking.”
Peter Hajek, director of the Tobacco Dependence Research Unit at Queen Mary University of London, said the study methods are of “unclear relevance for effects of vaping.”
“Human cells were submerged in nicotine and in off-the-shelf bought carcinogenic nitrosamines. It is not surprising of course that this damaged the cells, but this has no relationship to any effects of e-cigarettes on people who use them,” he said.
“No comparison with conventional cigarettes was made, but in the text of the article, the authors acknowledge the key bit of information that is of crucial relevance in this story: Vapers show a reduction in these chemicals of 97 percent compared to smokers. They should have added that his may well be the level that non-smokers obtain from their environment.”
https://www.nst.com.my/world/2018/01/330414/vaping-may-raise-cancer-risk-study
…
Tobacco companies, including BAT, Philip Morris , Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco, are all jostling for position in the emerging vaping market, which could top US$7 billion (S$9.8 billion) in size this year.
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27 Feb 2016
Crazy video shows e-cigarette exploding in man’s pocket http://huff.to/1KR7Tm4
A man in Kentucky wound up in hospital with second-degree burns after his e-cigarette battery blew up in his pocket.
Josh Hamilton was waiting in line at a Shell gas station in Owensboro last weekend when the device combusted, according to WFIE.
The video shows him running out the door to try to take his pants off.
This isn’t the first instance of an e-cigarette battery catching fire.
A teen in Lethbridge ended up with severe burns on his face and broken teeth back in January after his e-cigarette exploded while he was using it, according to The Canadian Press.
“He wanted to die. That is how much pain he was in,” Ty Greer’s father Perry told the outlet.
A 23-year-old Utah man also recently ended up with second-degree burns after change in his pocket may have prompted his e-cig to ignite, according to Fox13. The burns covered Austin Mark’s right leg and hand.
But sellers of the popular devices told Seattle’s Kiro 7 News they think unregulated or cheap versions bought online are behind the explosions.
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12 December 2015
Dutch ban vaping for under 18s, say more harmful than expected
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THE HAGUE (REUTERS) – Electronic cigarettes and water pipes will be banned in the Netherlands for children under 18 from next year, the government said, after finding that the devices were more damaging to health than expected.
E-cigarettes, which electrically vapourise a nicotine-infused solution, are defended by their proponents as a healthier alternative to conventional cigarettes, but the government said its studies showed they were still harmful.
“With this ban, I want to protect young people from the damage e-cigarettes cause,” said health state secretary Martin Van Rijn in a statement.
“I also want to avoid young people thinking that these e-cigarettes in hip colours are normal.”
The government said that studies carried out by the Dutch food safety and public health institutes had shown that e-cigarettes were “more harmful than expected” to users’ health.
A recent US study showed that teens and young adults who “vape” are more likely to graduate to smoking combustible cigarettes than those who do not.
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31 October 2015
Florida, USA
E-cigarette blows up in his face
US man in critical condition in hospital. His sister said that when the cigarette exploded the mouthpiece went down his throat and possibly exploded again.
Man in coma after e-cigarette blows up in his face http://ebx.sh/1XGHGZL
She was lying in bed with her two-year-old child in their Florida home, when she heard a blast. Ms Ema Richardson also smelt smoke.
She left the room to find the source of the smoke, and was horrified by what she saw.
Her brother, Evan Spahlinger, was lying on the bedroom floor covered in soot, Mail Online reported.
The electronic cigarette he was smoking had blown up in his face.
The 21-year-old was taken to hospital and placed in a medically induced coma and is said to be in a critical condition.
Ms Richardson told local TV station Wink News: “I found my brother not breathing, with his whole face and neck burned. He was trying to throw up a little or maybe he was gasping for air.”
She believed that Mr Spahlinger suffered internal and external burns, as well as damage to his lungs from the explosion and possibly the e-cigarette’s mouthpiece.
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Malaysia’s youngest (recorded) e-cigarette smoker?
Star
Wednesday July 1, 2015 MYT 8:30:57 AM
Student caught with e-ciggie disguised as pen
Compiled by RAHIMY RAHIM, NG SI HOOI and R. ARAVINTHAN
A FORM Two student from Kuala Kangsar was caught with an e-cigarette which looked exactly like a pen, China Press reported.
School authorities discovered that the student had an e-cigarette on her when she showed it to her classmates in school recently.
She told the school authorities that she had bought the e-cigarette from a friend, who got his supply from an online store.
According to the daily, the e-cigarette looked like a pen so parents might not be aware that their children have e-cigarettes.
The school authorities have informed the parents of both students about the incident and disciplinary action will be taken against them.
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/07/01/Student-caught-with-eciggie-disguised-as-pen/
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28 June 2015
Vaping takes off as e-cigarette sales break through $6bn
E-cigarettes are soaring in popularity and have started to steal smoking quitters away from nicotine replacement products such as patches and gum
E-cigarette sales break through $6 billion http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11692435/Vaping-takes-off-as-e-cigarette-sales-break-through-6bn.html …
7:00AM BST 23 Jun 2015
UK sales of nicotine replacements such as patches and gum fell for the first time in years as consumers turned to vaping devices to kick the habit.
In a sign that British consumers are increasingly using e-cigarettes as a crutch to quit smoking, domestic vaping sales increased by 75pc to £459m while spending on nicotine replacement therapies such as patches and gum fell by 3pc to £137m, its first decline since 2008, ending four years of annual growth of between 5pc and 6pc.
Globally, sales of vapour devices grew by 59pc to £3.9bn – breaking through $6bn for the first time – as business in its largest market, the US, more than doubled to £1.7bn, according to data from Euromonitor International.
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The law bans the sale of cigarettes and e-cigarettes to anyone under 21; it also bans their public possession and consumption until that age.
Hawaii has raised the smoking age to 21 due to a significant increase in vaping http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/23/8830711/hawaii-smoking-limit-21-first-state-in-us?utm_campaign=theverge&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter …
Out of control vaping makes Hawaii raise smoking age to 21
Becomes first state in US with smoking limit of 21
Hawaii is the first state in the US to raise its smoking age to 21, a measure that was signed into law on Friday and will become effective January 1st. The law bans the sale of cigarettes and e-cigarettes to anyone under 21; it also bans their public possession and consumption until that age. Bumping the age to 21 is expected to have a big impact
.The law was passed amid growing concerns about the prevalence of e-cigarettes, the use of which is on the rise among teens. In its legislation, Hawaii notes that a poll of six of its high schools found that 25 percent of 9th and 10th grade students had used an electronic smoking device at least once and 18 percent used one regularly. “Raising the minimum age as part of our comprehensive tobacco control efforts will help reduce tobacco use among our youth and increase the likelihood that our keiki will grow up to be tobacco-free,” Hawaii Governor David Ige says in a statement, using the Hawaiian word for children. http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/23/8830711/hawaii-smoking-limit-21-first-state-in-us — 28 June 2015
Vaping teens – Nation | The Star Online http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/06/28/Vaping-teens/ …
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Vaping craze a booming business in Malaysia https://shar.es/1q5jM9
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Meanwhile, the Health Ministry is concerned about the growing trend among underage Malaysians. Malaysia’s half-a-billion ringgit vape industry is, after all, the second largest in the world after the United States, and the biggest in Asia, according to Ibrahim Mohamed, co-organiser of the recent Vaporizer Convention Kuala Lumpur 2015. His estimates are based on the demand for Malaysian-made vaping items. For more: http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/06/28/Vaping-craze-a-booming-business/ —
AsiaOne 
— 28 June 2015 Singapore
Banned but high demand fuels trade of e-cigarettes here because… http://ow.ly/OSYtD
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A black market for contraband cigarettes exploded on the scene in 2006 due to the large ‘sin’ tax on cigarettes. The same thing has happened with electronic cigarettes since the Government banned them in 2010
By NG JUN SEN
– See more at: http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-news/banned-demand-fuels-lucrative-trade-electronic-cigarettes#sthash.1ICUrK4u.dpuf
— While the study is too small to draw many conclusions about public perception of e-cigarettes, it highlights widespread confusion among consumers that has been observed in many countries, said Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos, a researcher at Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens.
Consumers unclear about risks or benefits of e-cigarettes http://dlvr.it/BL5Ssf
… 26 Jun 2015 23:40 (Reuters Health) – While some smokers consider electronic cigarettes a potential aid in quitting, some people who have already quit see them as a temptation to resume a habit they fought hard to ditch, a small study suggests. Researchers in Scotland interviewed 64 smokers and found little consensus about the potential benefits and harms of e-cigarettes, which may reflect division in the medical community on the appropriateness of promoting e-cigarettes as a safer alternative to the real thing, the authors note in the journal Tobacco Control. “Because e-cigarettes are relatively new products we are only beginning to learn about the health risks,” senior study author Amanda Amos, a researcher at the Center for Population Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, said by email. … Amos and colleagues conducted 12 focus groups and 11 individual interviews with current smokers and people who had quit smoking within the past year. Most participants viewed smoking as a form of addiction and believed willpower played a strong role in quitting. Almost all of them had tried e-cigarettes at least once. They generally viewed e-cigarettes as distinct from other nicotine replacement products like patches or gum that are designed to help people quit. Because general practitioners give nicotine alternatives to smokers trying to quit, the study participants tended to think of these as medical products. With e-cigarettes, however, people were less clear about what their intended purpose or correct use might be, though they were seen as less directly tied to smoking cessation than patches or gum. Some people saw e-cigarettes as a more satisfying replacement to smoking, while others viewed them as less desirable or even as a threat to smoking cessation. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/health/consumers-unclear-about-r/1943480.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter —
E-cigarette vapour carcinogenic, study shows
Publication Date : 20-06-2015
Electronic cigarettes — use of which is spreading, particularly among youngsters — contain carcinogens, sometimes at higher levels than those found in conventional cigarettes, recent research shows, raising concerns about the effects of e-cigarettes on health.
In e-cigarettes, a fluid containing any of a variety of flavours or aromas is heated inside an aspirator, and the generated vapour is then inhaled. The Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Law requires that products containing nicotine undergo clinical trials, with the result that domestic sales of e-cigarettes containing nicotine are effectively banned, but e-cigarettes without nicotine are freely sold. … Kunugita and his team analysed the vapours of nine different brands of e-cigarettes sold domestically. For each of the brands, they measured the composition of the vapour a total of 15 times and then took an average. …
In two brands, the average concentration of the carcinogen formaldehyde contained in 550 milliliters — the equivalent of 10 inhalations — surpassed the average concentration in conventional cigarettes, at 100 micrograms and 120 micrograms, respectively, compared to 76 micrograms for conventional cigarettes. … Also detected were glyoxal and acrolein, which are feared to inflame bronchial tubes and pulmonary alveoli, leading to a reduction in lung functioning. …
A research group at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology led by Masashi Gamo examined the health impact of e-cigarettes in light of experiments on animals and concluded that the concentrations of formaldehyde, glyoxal, and acrolein contained in e-cigarettes may pose a health hazard.
http://www.asianewsnet.net/E-cigarette-vapour-carcinogenic-study-shows-76853.html
— Malay Mail Online From Chinese inventor’s nightmares came the e-cigarette revolution
— Karen Hughes of the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University and other authors of the study said the research suggested experimentation, rather than a desire to quit smoking, was the main driver of teen use. “There is an urgent need for controls on the promotion and sale of e-cigarettes to children,” they concluded.
One in five teens have tried e-cigarettes, a British study finds http://tdy.sg/1CFzlww
A woman exhales vapour from an e-cigarette outside the offices of British e-cigarette manufacturer Totally Wicked in Blackburn, northern England March 19, 2015. Photo: Reuters In a survey of more than 16,000 people aged 14-17 years in northwest England in 2013, 19.2 per cent said they had tried or purchased e-cigarettes, according to a paper published in the journal BMC Public Health. E-cigarette use, or “vaping”, was highest among smokers, reaching 75.8 per cent in those with a habit of at least five a day, although 15.8 per cent of teenage vapers had never smoked conventional cigarettes. http://www.todayonline.com/daily-focus/health/one-five-teens-have-tried-e-cigarettes-british-study-finds —
#US experts fear e-cigarettes fuel teen addiction http://bit.ly/1KWe0zr
http://www.straitstimes.com/news/world/united-states/story/us-experts-fear-e-cigarettes-fuel-teen-addiction-20150214 — Recently, an overheated e-cigarette sparked a fire in a piece of luggage at the Los Angeles International Airport. In September last year, a plane at the Logan Airport in Boston had to be evacuated after an e-cigarette in a passenger’s bag caught fire in the cargo hold of the aircraft.
MAS bans e-cigarettes from check-in luggage http://fw.to/Crzak2E no-smoking in cabin rule stays
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/02/09/MAS-bans-ecigs-check-in/ —
E-cigarettes have 10 times carcinogens: Japan researchers
E-cigarettes found to contain up to 10 times the amount of carcinogens as regular tobacco http://bit.ly/1zYRcek
TOKYO – E-cigarettes contain up to 10 times the amount of cancer-causing agents as regular tobacco, Japanese scientists said Thursday, the latest blow to an invention once heralded as less harmful than smoking. A team of researchers commissioned by Japan’s Health Ministry studied the vapour produced by e-cigarettes for signs of carcinogens, a media report said. The electronic devices – increasingly popular around the world, particularly among young people – function by heating flavoured liquid, which often contains nicotine, into a vapour that is inhaled, much like traditional cigarettes, but without the smoke. Researchers found carcinogens such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in vapour produced by several types of e-cigarette liquid, TBS television reported. Formaldehyde – a substance found in building materials and embalming fluids – was present at levels 10 times those found in the smoke from regular cigarettes, TBS said. http://yourhealth.asiaone.com/content/e-cigarettes-have-10-times-carcinogens-japan-researchers — ‘Vape’ is word of the year for Oxford Dictionaries
‘Vape’ – the act of smoking an e-cigarette – is word of the year for Oxford Dictionaries http://read.ht/lNK
Oxford Dictionaries picked “vape” — the act of smoking an e-cigarette — as their new word of the year on Tuesday, with the affectionate “bae” and the more pragmatic and “contactless” as runners-up. “Vaping has gone mainstream,” with usage doubling in 2014 compared to 2013, editorial director Judy Pearsall said. “The language usage of the word vape and related terms in 2014 has shown a marked increase” due to celebrities “vaping” and “growing public debate on the public dangers and the need for regulation”, she said. The word, which was first used in the 1980s, can be employed as a verb to mean inhaling and exhaling the vapour produced by electronic cigarettes but also as a noun to refer to the devices themselves. It was added on OxfordDictionaries.com in August and is being considered for inclusion in the official reference Oxford English Dictionary. E-cigarettes only began to be produced around a decade ago but the first use of the word is believed to be a 1983 magazine article by Rob Stepney which imagined the use of inhalers instead of cigarettes. …
‘Vape’ has been chosen as Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year http://ind.pn/1EYRh4P
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Guy who smoked E-cigarette on bus poses with gang sign on Police bike http://goo.gl/UQsb4X
The man who brazenly bragged about smoking an electronic cigarette on a public bus is now seen posing with a gang sign while sitting on a Police vehicle. … Said Stomper Joseph: “I came across the recent viral article regarding the ‘E-cigarette guy’ who smoked in the bus. I was browsing through his pictures and found these. “In the photos’ comments, people said that he was displaying a gang logo while sitting on a police motorcycle. “He’s too brazen!” http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/this-urban-jungle/guy-who-smoked-e-cigarette-is-at-it-again-this-time-posing-with-gang-sign-on#xtor=CS2-4 …
Man smokes e-cigarette on public bus, says S’poreans should be less ‘kiasu’ about such things http://bit.ly/1zg2ezg
— EXPLODING E-CIGARETTE CHARGERS!
UK: School forced to evacuate after e-cigarette explodes (wrong charger once again *sigh*) http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/school-forced-to-evacuate-after-ecigarette-explodes-9794762.html …
Evening Standard 
Having switched to e-cigarettes for health reasons, he has now reverted to regular tobacco, branding it ‘safer’.
He claims the shop that sold him the e-cigarette blamed faulty batteries.
Yet another reason to use the battery and charger supplied with your Vape device! http://dailym.ai/1sLTYm4 #NoSmoking #Vape #Vaping
He claims that medics likened his injuries to bullet wounds – and says he is lucky to be alive.
Mr Aspinall, who may need three years of skin grafts to recover, told The Sun: ‘It glowed and burned in my hand. I dropped it and it exploded.
‘There was lots of blood, a huge hole in one leg and a gash in the other.’
‘It could have blown my head off,’ he added. ‘The surgeon said it was like someone had used a gun.
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Daily Mirror Son blows up family home after plugging e-cigarette into wrong charger http://bit.ly/1yVBAs1
— ‘The force of the blast had blown out all the bedroom windows and blown the door off the hinges.
Daily Mail Online 
This is the horrific state of a family home left gutted by flames after an e-cigarette exploded while it was charging, killing the neighbour’s cat. Victoria Newton, 34, and her three children are ‘lucky to be alive’ according to fire crews but have now been left homeless. It is the latest in a series of incidents across the country caused by the devices, sparking calls for tighter safety measures on the new trend. Ms Newton was at home with her four-year-old son Dylan and her two daughters Millie-Anne, nine, and Lauren, 13, when they heard a bang and the house in Leigh, Greater Manchester, became engulfed in flames. She said: ‘It was a nightmare. My daughter Lauren had some friends round and one of her mates had plugged in her e-cigarette and they’d gone out playing.
‘About 15 minutes later, I was doing housework and I heard this crackling noise coming from Lauren’s bedroom.
‘I didn’t know what it was and when I reached the landing I just remember this huge bang and I was thrown to the floor by the force of it. ‘It had been left on the floor and the explosion sent it flying across the room and it ended up under Lauren’s bed. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2675007/Cat-killed-house-fire-started-exploding-e-cigarette-shot-socket-charging-set-fire-bed-sheets.html —
Pen gun a banned item | http://shar.es/1m3F4l
KUALA LUMPUR: The ball pen gun, a device designed to look like a pen but fires deadly projectiles, is a banned item that can land those in possession of it in hot water. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said yesterday police and other enforcement agencies are aware of such concealed firearms such as the pen gun and it is illegal to own, import or sell it. “This pen was discovered here some 20 years ago and we have since kept a close watch on those who may attempt to bring it into the country through entry points. Those manning security at these points are aware of such pens and it would not get past security if anyone tries to bring it in. “Even if it was carried in one’s pocket, it would not get past the X-ray scanners. It is a banned item and anyone caught with it can be detained under the Firearms Act,” he said. … The police clarify: NOT an e-cigarette but a James-Bond styled miniature pistol called a “ballpen-gun” but they await a post-mortem for the final result.
‘Pellet rounds found on victim’s body’ http://bit.ly/1BL5bUz
BINTULU: THE more police look into the case of a man at first thought to have been killed by an exploding e-cigarette, the more it feels like they were in a spy movie. Police found the death of a 43-year-old van driver here on Sunday was due to a projectile-like weapon piercing his chest at close range. District police chief Superintendent Abdul Razak Mohammad said police found what appeared to be a ballpoint pen-like weapon on the victim’s body. He said the weapon looked like something out of a spy movie. “One thing for sure is that his death is not due to an exploding e-cigarette but a pen-like gun,” said Razak. Police found several pellet rounds on the victim’s body, believed to be the projectile for the weapon. “At this moment, we are not sure how the weapon works, or if it is propelled by gunpowder-like substance. All we gathered is that the victim’s body had a burn mark and a wound on the chest.” …
Van driver killed by ‘ballpen gun’ in Malaysia http://shar.es/1m0Mkj
Star
Published: Monday October 6, 2014 MYT 3:08:00 PM Updated: Monday October 6, 2014 MYT 3:21:46 PM
Ballpen-gun, not e-cigarette, behind mysterious death in Bintulu market
… A normal cigarette never explodes! It kills you over time… Borneo Post Online
E-cigarette explodes, killing smoker
by Abang Ismail. Posted on October 6, 2014, Monday
BINTULU: Smoking definitely kills, as a 53-year-old van driver died from an explosion after his electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) device suddenly blew up at Bintulu Tamu (Market) yesterday. The victim, who was only identified only as ‘Lau’ (at press-time), was walking with a friend to a coffee shop when the freak incident happened. They were heading for a coffee break as Lau was waiting for customers for his chartered van. It is believed that the battery of the e-cigarette exploded, taking into account that it popped out from the device during the explosion. The force of the explosion struck Lau in the chest, causing him to collapse. The friend, who was shocked, said he tried to help Lau and discovered a hole with burnt marks on Lau’s chest. He said Lau did not die instantly as his eyes were wide open when his name was called out. … However the root cause of Lau’s death was still being investigated, pending a post-mortem. 
http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/10/06/e-cigarette-explodes-killing-smoker/ … PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN WITH YOUR E-CIGARETTE! Charlie Pugsley, from the London Fire Brigade fire investigation team, said: “People assume e-cigarettes are much safer than ordinary cigarettes, and in most cases they are. “The danger is that people sometimes use incorrect chargers, which runs the risk of over-charging, which can potentially have explosive results. We are calling on e-cig retailers to ensure they are selling the correct chargers for the cigarettes. “As with all rechargeable electrical equipment, it’s vitally important that people use the correct type of charger for their e-cigs to prevent fires, which can be serious and could even result in death.” The brigade said people should never leave items such as e-cigarettes on charge overnight or when they are sleeping. They also highlighted safety concerns over people lighting cigarettes when using oxygen cylinders for lung conditions. Users should also avoid smoking or using naked flames near oxygen equipment as cylinders can explode when exposed to heat. http://home.bt.com/news/oddnews/smoker-hurt-after-ecig-explodes-11363893608033?s_cid=con_social_tw_aod …
An incompatible charger was the alleged cause of an e–cigarrette exploding: http://po.st/FADNfr
Smoker hurt after e-cig explodes
A woman was taken to hospital suffering shock and smoke inhalation after an e-cigarette exploded.
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Singapore, you stupid pic.twitter.com/1srz0IWJeJ
chap. — 
E-cigarettes ban in UAE goes up in smoke | GulfNews.gulfnews.com ….. NST
New York City imposes strict e-cigarette ban
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— asiaone news
Singaporeans defy ban on e-cigarettes
SINGAPORE – Singaporeans are defying a ban on electronic cigarettes despite stiff fines for distributors and smugglers, health authorities said Friday. The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said it confiscated 5,356 of the devices, known as e-cigarettes or “vapers”, last year, almost three times the seizures in 2012. This compared with only 10 such seizures in 2009. The battery-powered devices deliver a puff of nicotine vapour in a variety of possible flavours, minus many of the toxic chemicals present in a cigarette. HSA said there was no conclusive scientific evidence to show that e-cigarettes help smokers quit tobacco use. It added that health authorities are “concerned that e-cigarettes could potentially be a gateway to developing a smoking habit”. The agency says it watches websites and forums to monitor the illegal trade of e-cigarettes inside Singapore. http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/singaporeans-defy-ban-e-cigarettes — Borneo Post online
E-cigarettes not banned but liquid used listed as poison
Posted on February 20, 2013, Wednesday
KUCHING: Electronic-Cigarette (or e-cigarette) is not banned in the nation although the vapour solution containing stimulant nicotine used in the cigarettes falls under the group of products listed in the Poisons Act 1952. Therefore, vendors of e-cigarettes must register with the Ministry of Health under the act, said State Assistant Health Minister Dr Jerip Susil when clarifying public queries if the e-cigarette was banned. “The electronic gadget including the batteries is not banned but sellers must register the solutions containing nicotine with the Ministry of Health under the Poisons Act,” said Dr Jerip when met at his office in Bangunan Masja in Petra Jaya here yesterday. He said their officers had been on the ground to enforce the law to check on vendors of e-cigarettes and collecting suspected samples. Dr Jerip said the nicotine in the solutions was probably to help smokers reduce the withdrawal effect.
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E-Cigarettes Versus Nicotine Patches: Study Compares Efficacy [guardianlv.com —
— The Sun daily
E-cigarettes could save millions of lives, conference told
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