Cheap electronic cigarette poisonings not a problem in some parts of the country
According to the Knox County Health Department, cheap electronic cigarette related calls are not required to be reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; however, it does not believe there is a growing trend in Knoxville.Electronic cigarette poisonings are a hot topic for most media outlets these days and it seems as if all of them want consumers to believe that e-cigarettes are the worst health advancement known to man. On April 7, 2014, Knoxville, TN news station, WATE 6 had a different report for the public.
The report states that while claims are being made of national increases in electronic cigarette poisonings there have been none reported in Knoxville.A spokesperson from the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital also chimed in stating that cheap electronic cigarette related incidents are not even on their radar, and as far as they know they have not had a single case where a child has had to be treated for anything related to electronic cigarettes.
The CDC has reported a dramatic increase in calls to poison control for e-cigarette related incidents. According to their report the number of calls has jumped from 1 call per month in 2010 to 215 per month in February 2014. The report does not state the nature of these calls nor does it state where these calls are coming from. It only states that more than half the incidents being reported involve children under the age of 5.“Parents need to realize that these liquids contain nicotine which is harmful to children,” says Jeff Sherwood owner of Vol Vapors.
“Liquids that are used in cheap electronic cigarette should be treated as any other harmful chemical that parents should keep out of reach of their children. If you wouldn't sit a bottle of bleach where your child can reach it, then you should not sit a bottle of e-cigarette liquid where he or she can reach it either.”Thomas said some people use E-cigarettes as an aid to help them quit smoking, because while they're still consuming nicotine there are less harmful chemicals in comparison to a cigarette.
"Now, e-juice, we're not sure about the different levels but we know that there is less chemicals in e-juice than there is in cigarettes; less addictive," said Thomas. "Also you don't have the things like fiberglass filters tearing your lungs up and stuff like that." The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved E-cigarettes as an effective way to help smokers quit, but Larson said there are other programs that can help.
Jeff says Vol Vapors uses childproof lids on every bottle of e cigarette oil liquid they sell and also prints on the labels, “Keep out of reach of kids and pets” to give parents a warning. Currently cheap electronic cigarette liquid is not required to be bottled with childproof lids, but it is a requirement that most electronic cigarette advocates would like to see put in place.
As of 2012 there are 182,200 residents in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is unclear how many of those residents are vaping electronic cigarettes; however, with the Knox County Health Department as well as East Tennessee Children’s Hospital stating that there have been no reported electronic cigarette incidents, it is clear that e-cigarettes are not a problem everywhere.