Teen suffers second degree burns after an E-cigarette explodes in his face

A teen in Alberta, Canada suffered second degree burns and broken teeth after his e-cigarette spontaneously exploded just inches from his mouth while he was using it in his car.

The victim, Ty Greer, 16, was using the device in a car last week in Lethbridge when the e-cigarette exploded.

“It lit my kid’s face on fire, busted two teeth out,” Perry Greer, Ty’s father said Wednesday. “It burned the back of his throat, burned his tongue very badly. If he wasn’t wearing glasses, he possibly could have lost his eyes.”

Greer said the family raced Ty to hospital. He remembers hugging his son as he squirmed in agony waiting for a dose of morphine to kick in.

“He wanted to die. That is how much pain he was in.”

Greer doesn’t know why the device exploded.

“He pushed the button and blew in, and then you wait a couple of seconds, and then you puff on it. It was about two inches from his mouth and it just blew apart.”

Greer said his son has been treated for first- and second-degree burns.

Photos of Ty in the hospital show the skin around his mouth and cheeks blackened and bleeding. He’s received two root canals since the incident.

Greer said the model of electronic cigarette his son bought on his own is as large as a cigar and is popular because of the amount of vapour it produces.

The defective vape was a Wotofo Phantom, which is produced in China. Online reviews of the product on the marketplace Eciggity were mostly positive with no indication of such defects.

In a statement to Mic by the Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association, the industry shot back at the implication that e-cigarettes are dangerous.

“Electronic cigarettes and vapor products are electronic devices and do not combust. They should be thought the same as other rechargeable electrical equipment such as laptops and cellphones, in terms of being battery powered,” the statement read. “We cannot speak to user error or on behalf of a manufacturer for their device. If there is truly an issue with a specific device, similar to a laptop or cell phone manufacturer, inquiries should be directed toward the individual company.”

The manufacturer and its Canadian distributor were not immediately available for comment.

Greer said governments should not allow minors to buy such devices.

“I would like to see these unregulated ones possibly banned,” Greer said. “It is horrific to see your kid with his face so burnt.”