FDA Workshop Will Consider Hazards of Exploding E-Cigarette Batteries

The Food and Drug Administration will hold a workshop in April to consider the hazards of exploding batteries in e-cigarettes, HealthDay reports.

The agency’s Center for Tobacco Products will gather information about what types of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are more likely to experience a battery-related safety concern such as overheating, fire or explosion, and why. Experts will discuss the relative risks of overheating, fire, and explosion with different ENDS that are currently marketed; how many incidents of ENDS explosions have occurred; and the characteristics of the products that have exploded.

Doctors at the University of Washington Region Burn Center in Seattle recently reported they are seeing a growing number of patients who are being harmed by exploding e-cigarettes.