Last month, a teenage boy in Brooklyn was blinded in his left eye after an e-cigarette he was testing exploded in his hands and face.
Unfortunately, what happened appears to be no longer a remote case. Several other incidents of battery operated e-cigarettes that exploded have been reported recently.
Such accidents have prompted U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer to call for a probe into the possible causes of e-cigarette explosions and a recall to hold manufacturers accountable.
The senator's call for an investigation and recall on Sunday came several days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revealed that it will now regulate e-cigarettes and issued tougher regulations for the vaporizing device which include banning sales to individuals below 18 years old.
Schumer, who described e-cigarettes as a ticking time bomb, thinks that the prior lack of regulation of e-cigarettes contributed to failures to acknowledge the potential dangers associated with using the device.
He added that the FDA should take advantage of its new authority to find out what causes e-cigarettes to explode.
"We ask the FDA to do its job and investigate why these cigarettes are exploding and force the e-cigarette manufacturers to prevent this from happening,'' Schumer said.
The senator wanted to know if certain parts used in e-cigarettes such as atomizers or batteries have flaws, and wanted the FDA to identify if any actions should be taken to prevent such explosions from occurring again in the future.
"We cannot turn a blind eye to the dangers of exploding e-cigarette devices, especially when many of the injured are teens," the senator said adding that the FDA should determine if the vaping devices are flawed and order a recall if necessary to put an end to explosions.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has earlier reported of the rising use of e-cigarettes among teens in the U.S. with the rate of e-cigarette use among high school students rising from 1.5 percent in 2011 to 16 percent in 2015.
The CDC said that kids between 12 and 18 years old are likely to use e-cigarettes due to influence of online advertisements.
