WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: E-Cigarettes Are Dangerous! 3 Cases In Which Electronic Cigarettes Have Proven To Be Very Dangerous.

#1

A Texas man is suing the store where he bought electronic cigarette batteries after they exploded in his pocket and caused injuries to his thighs and scrotum.

David Powell, of Arlington, is seeking a minimum of $1million after receiving first and second degree burns from the incident that occurred while he was playing kickball at his daughter's birthday party.

The two lithium-ion batteries Mr Powell bought from Vixen Vapors a couple days earlier were not struck, but exploded in his cargo shorts and sent 'a scathing hot mixture of shrapnel' into his groin.

#2

It was 'a hot, fizzing kind of explosion. Not a loud kaboom, [more like] a sizzling star. The sparks were shooting from his crotch area' the man's lawyer John Ross told the Forth Worth Star-Telegram.

He quickly rushed to a shower to wash off the lithium and other chemicals, but the former Marine still had to spend four days in a burn unit after the August incident.

Mr Powell is now able to wear pants again.

#3

Vixen Vapors does not make the batteries in question, and they are thought to be manufactured in China.

Mr Powell and Mr Ross allege that the products were 'unreasonably dangerous' and 'failed to conform to the applicable design standards and specifications.'

#4

In a statement to CBS DFW, Vixen Vapors said 'we work hard to educate our customers on their proper use and storage. We believe that if a product is defective, then its manufacturer should take responsibility.'

The shop has put up a sign warning to customers about putting batteries in anything other than a battery safety box. The brand of batteries that exploded has not been pulled.

Dangerous incidents associated with e-cigarettes have become more common as the devices, which work by heating liquid with nicotine and turning it into vapor to be inhaled.

#5

SANTA ANA Chris Brookins has given up smoking after a modified e-cigarette exploded, sending shrapnel into his hand and setting part of his bedroom on fire.

"I'm done," said Brookins, 29, who used to sell e-cigarettes. "I quit."

Around 1:45 a.m. Brookins was inside the bedroom of his unit at The Marke apartment complex in the 100 block of East MacArthur Boulevard.

He removed an e-cigarette from a battery charger and had taken a single drag when the device began hissing.

#6

Just as Brookins pulled the e-cigarette away from his lips and turned the device from his face, it blew up in his hand.

Shards of metal flew through the room, lodging in a wooden beam in the ceiling and setting fire to a nightstand and some clothes.

"It sounded like a shotgun," Brookins said, describing the blast that left him with a hand wound that required two stitches.

He was able to extinguish the blaze with water before Orange County Fire Authority personnel arrived.

#7

The cause of the e-cigarette malfunction has not been determined, OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi said.

Brookins, who has been using e-cigarettes for six years, bought the modified device last week from a small smoke shop in Costa Mesa.

#8

Modified e-cigarettes are slightly bigger than regular e-cigarettes and have sophisticated electronics designed for a deeper smoking experience and a long-lasting battery life, according to ecigsopedia.com.

Brookins and his friend 35-year-old Sean Schoepflin operated GreenNicotine, an e-cigarette business in Tucson, Ariz., in 2008.

Schoepflin also has stopped using e-cigarettes after Brookins' mishap.

"I could have lost my best friend if he had not pulled (the modified e-cigarette) away from his face," Schoepflin said, adding that regulations for e-cigarette manufacturers are needed. "A lot of people cut safety corners to make more money."

The explosion that injured Brookins is the second of its kind in Orange County within a month.

On Feb. 10, a 17-year-old in Anaheim suffered a hand injury when an e-cigarette he was holding exploded, according to authorities.

#9

A smoker who switched to e-cigarettes for health reasons has described the horrific moment the device 'nearly blew his legs off'.

David Aspinall's e-cigarette left him fighting for his life, after it overheated and exploded - showering his limbs with metal.

The 48-year-old, from Wigan, UK, nearly lost his flat in the blaze that followed - and spent nine days in hospital recovering from the ordeal.

#10

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.

#11

Despite his terrible injuries, he managed to stagger to a neighbour, who described the scene as similar to a horror film.

#12

As well as his leg, metal from the exploding e-cigarette had embedded itself in much of Mr Aspinall's furniture.

#13

Having switched to e-cigarettes for health reasons, he has now reverted to regular tobacco, branding it 'safer'.

#14

He claims the shop that sold him the e-cigarette blamed faulty batteries.

The incident come after a 62-year-old man in Merseyside died in August 2014, in what was thought to be Britain's first death from an exploding e-cigarette.

#15 AVOIDING THE DANGERS: FIREFIGHTERS' ADVICE TO E-CIGARETTE USERS

Firefighters have told e-cigarette users to:

- Charge the device on a flat, solid and stable surface, such as a kitchen worktop;

- Keep the device away from flammable or combustible materials when charging;

- Never leave the device on a bed or close to soft furnishings, or in a cluttered space;

- Don't exceed the recommended charging time, or leave unattended for any significant length of time e.g. overnight while you're asleep, or if you go out;

- Don't buy cheap, unbranded chargers and always follow the manufacturer's instructions.