KTVU
By Melanie Woodrow
November 13, 2014
SAN FRANCISCO - 2 Investigates uncovered an alarming trend in California: the number of calls to Poison Control for nicotine poisoning from e-cigarette liquid is on the rise, more than doubling in just the last year. And California Poison Control reports that most of those cases involve young children ingesting the potentially deadly liquid.
Currently no federal agency regulates e-cigarette devices, liquids or packaging. 2 Investigates asked why a common solution that could potentially reduce the number of children's poisonings is not required by law.
Growing trend, growing danger
Industry insiders estimate that the vaping and e-cigarette industry is a $1.5 billion business and growing. At Delux Vapor in Berkeley, owner Rick Evans says many customers prefer vaping as an alternative to smoking, or as a way to help them quit smoking.
According to the Food and Drug Administration's definition, e-cigarettes include any “battery-operated products designed to deliver nicotine, flavor and other chemicals. They turn chemicals, including highly addictive nicotine, into an aerosol that is inhaled by the user.” The e-cigarette liquid currently available on the market includes nicotine concentrations anywhere from zero to 36mg/ml. The highest levels are usually preferred by heavy smokers and former smokers, according to online merchants.
As popularity for e-cigarettes grows, California Poison Control says it is receiving an increasing number of calls for nicotine poisonings. The nicotine in e-cigarette liquid can be toxic if ingested or absorbed through the skin. So much so that employees who mix and package e-cigarette liquids wear protective gear. Kent Olson, Medical Director of San Francisco Poison Control, tells KTVU that in 2012 there were 28 calls for nicotine poisoning in California. In 2013, there were nearly four times as many with 106 calls. With two months still left in 2014, that number has already practically doubled to 203 calls.
The relatively new industry is not currently regulated by the FDA or Consumer Product Safety Commission. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Because e-cigarettes are largely unregulated, the agency does not have good information about them, such as the amounts and types of components and potentially harmful constituents.”
Children most susceptible
According to California Poison Control, this year in California more than 60 percent of nicotine poison victims from e-cigarette liquids have been five years old or younger. A lot of e-cigarette liquids for sale online and in shops are candy flavored and scented. Nicole Oliver, a mother who lives in a suburb outside Seattle, says her 22-month old daughter Winona drank half a 15ml bottle of e-cigarette liquid, and it could have cost the little girl her life.
“Her eyes were rolling back in her head and she was just flopping around. Poison control said she had way over the overdose limit,” said Oliver.
“As little as ten milligrams could be very toxic to a small child and that's the amount you'd find in less than a quarter teaspoon,” said Olson.
With the number of nicotine poisonings from e-cigarette liquids growing, proponents of regulating the industry want to see manufacturers held to a higher standard before someone dies.
"I don't want to predict if it's going to happen but I certainly hope it doesn't," said Olson.
Bay Area Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA 14th District) is trying to take action in Congress by introducing the SMOKE Act. It would require the FDA to establish mandatory labeling and child resistant packaging standards on all e-cigarette devices and liquids. Florida Senator Bill Nelson has also introduced a similar bill to the SMOKE Act called the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2014.
“It's the wild, wild west. It's so totally unregulated that we should be alarmed,” said Congresswoman Speier.
Speier said she also believes the industry specifically targets young people by giving the liquids candy flavorings. At Delux Vapor, Evans maintains that he doesn't sell to anyone under 18 without a parent's consent. Also, he chooses to use child-resistant packaging on all his e-cigarette liquids even though it is not required by law.
A spokesperson with the Consumer Product Safety Commission tells 2 Investigates if Congress passes legislation on liquid nicotine containers, jurisdiction would likely be split between CPSC and the FDA. CPSC would likely regulate the packaging while FDA would regulate the contents.
Earlier this year the FDA proposed new rules that would extend the agency's authority to regulate tobacco products and any other smokeless devices, including e-cigarettes, that meet the legal definition. Those rules have yet to be finalized, according to the agency's website.
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