Vaping is poisoning young children at an alarming rate, an official report suggests. 

The number of children under five in America who were sickened by e-cigarettes this year is about three times higher than in 2018 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration looked at a year’s worth of reports to the National Poison Data System and found there were 6,074 accidental exposures to e-cigarettes among under-5s reported in 2023 compared to 1,836 in 2018.

Inhalation through the mouth and nose is the leading means of accidental exposure to vapes while swallowing the nicotine-dense liquid came in second. 

During 2017–2018, the number of e-cigarette exposure cases increased by 25 percent (from 2,320 to 2,901), and in 2018  more than 63 percent of cases occurred among children under five

During 2017–2018, the number of e-cigarette exposure cases increased by 25 percent (from 2,320 to 2,901), and in 2018  more than 63 percent of cases occurred among children under five

Children who watch adults vaping are very likely to mimic their actions and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends adult more carefully store their devices to avoid poisonings

Children who watch adults vaping are very likely to mimic their actions and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends adult more carefully store their devices to avoid poisonings

Most of the time, calls to poison centers about dangerous exposure to vapes have excluded the brand names of the devices in question, but the most oft-cited brand was Elf Bar, a mega-popular disposable device that comes in nicotine concentrations as high as five percent. 

In the time between April 2022 and March 2023, over 87 percent of reports to US poison centers of dangerous exposure to e-cigarettes have pertained to young children, 

In 2018, nearly two-thirds of accidental vape exposure reports occurred in under-fives, making a total of roughly 1,836. 

Over 60 percent of reports to poison control centers involved Elf Bars, and of that total, a staggering 90 percent were among children under five. 

Swelling rates of e-cigarette poisonings in the form of inhalation, ingestion, contact with skin, and contact with eyes suggest that older users may not be storing their devices carefully enough or keeping a sufficent eye on their little ones. 

The majority of all poisonings – 61 percent – were due to inhalation, while 40 percent were due to ingestion. 

Three and a half percent of poisonings involved skin contact with the nicotine in vapes, while one percent involved eye exposure.  

The devices are also designed to look sleek and harmless, which greatly increases the odds of sparking the interest of a young, unsuspecting child.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said: ‘Continued surveillance is critical to guiding efforts to prevent poisoning exposure associated with e-cigarettes, particularly among young children.

‘Adult e-cigarette users should store their e-cigarettes and e-liquids safely to prevent access by young children.’ 

Despite the alarming rise in reports, they do not necessarily mean the child was hospitalized or required further medical attention. 

Overall, 0.6 percent of dangerous exposures – just 43 cases – resulted in a person of any being admitted to the hospital, while 8.3 percent, or 582 cases, required treatment at a doctors office or clinic. 

The CDC report did not specify how old each hospitalized or medically treated patient was, though, and the agency looked at poisoning rates broadly in people of all ages, from under five to 25 and older. 

While exact age breakdowns are not known, it is likely that the lion’s share of poisonings resulting in necessary medical treatment were in children, because highly-potent e-liquids would wreak the most havoc on a young body naive to nicotine. 

Matthew Myers, President of the anti-smoking advocacy group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids told DailyMail.com: ‘As these products deliver higher and higher content of nicotine they become more and more dangerous for a very young child who accidentally gets hold of one.

‘What we have is these products are easily accessible to people of all ages but because they now deliver such high levels of nicotine, the potential risks to a toddler logically just grow.’ 

And it’s not just the US that is seeing alarming upticks in accidental exposure to vapes among young children. 

In Australia, reports to New South Wales poison control centers number of toddlers aged one to four poisoned by vape devices jumped from 42 in 2020 to 127 in 2021, while children aged five to 14 went from 9 to 27 in the same period. 

In 2019, an Australian baby died after allegedly being exposed to toxic levels of liquid nicotine from an e-cigarette. 

Just one milliliter of liquid nicotine concentrate is enough to be fatal to a child if ingested, inhaled or splashed in their eyes the coroner reported. 

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Post source: Daily mail