Man Severely Injured After E-Cigarette Exploded In His Mouth

A man has been left with multiple injuries and first-degree burns after the e-cigarette he was using exploded in his mouth. The explosion fractured his neck, forced teeth into his gums, broke his finger, and burned his face, chest and eyes.

James Lauria, 23, was using the device as an aid to quit smoking when the incident occurred, leaving him in intense pain and unable to eat solid food after it destroyed parts of his mouth. The injuries were so severe that Lauria had to spend a week in the ICU to recover.

“He had burns to his hand and a fractured neck and finger, and burns to his cornea,” his father, Ed Lauria, said. “It blew a hole through his pallet and at the same time, flames went down and he got first-degree burns on his chest and up on his face. It forced his front tooth up into his gum- out of sight -and chipped the other one and damaged a few other lower teeth.“

There have been calls for tougher regulations in regards to e-cigarettes after a spate of incidents that raised genuine concern about the devices. The United Kingdom Local Government Authority was forced to ask manufacturers to include warnings after more than 100 fires were caused by e-cigarettes in the country, while in rare cases some have even exploded with one man from Merseyside being killed.