Couple from Limburg are shocked: e-cigarette explodes in car on highway | inland

A few burnt fingers, a terrible fright and a star in the wind. That is what Fischer got out of the bizarre incident. ,,My husband Ralf said: ‘Give me my vape’. The thing was in the glove box. And while I wanted to see if it was on, the battery violently exploded against the window. It was like a bullet!”

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According to the Limburger, it looked like a piece of fireworks went off. Because after crashing into the windshield, the projectile blazed its way between her partner’s legs. “He pulled his steering wheel, but luckily we came to a stop along the road pretty quickly.”

The adventure was not over yet, because the battery of the cigarette just kept burning. “I took the thing out of the car with a piece of paper and threw it in the grass.” Even after fifteen minutes it was still burning hot. It had left a trail of black soot in the car.

Fischer counts herself lucky that she first turned the electronic cigarette over to look at it, and didn’t point it at her husband’s face. “You don’t want to know what could have happened.” Now the physical damage was limited to sore fingers. “Luckily there is enough calluses on it,” she laughs.

Spontaneous ignition of batteries from e-cigarettes is rare, but it is usually drastic. For example, an American teenager’s jaw was dislocated in Utah when a vaper exploded in his face. Last year was one Israeli man so unhappy that one ignited in front of his chest. He was also taken to hospital with burns.

Most incidents take place in users’ pockets, according to an overview published by the American magazine Tobacco Prevention and Cessation published in 2018. With the most common injuries being injuries to thighs, hands and genitals.

Dutch sellers of vapes have already responded to explosions abroad. The advice is to always transport the batteries in a storage box or case. Loose in the pocket, they can come into contact with coins or keys, which can cause a short circuit. Incidentally, it also happens that batteries of telephones and e-bikes ignite spontaneously.

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“I am sorry that this story means negative publicity for e-cigarettes again,” says a seller in the south of the country who wishes to remain anonymous. “While I have already helped so many people from a tobacco addiction with this product.”

Vaping is popular among die-hard smokers in the hopes of quitting smoking. However, using an e-cigarette is not without risks. Although the e-cigarette is less unhealthy than tobacco cigarettes, the vapor from e-cigarettes contains a number of ingredients and chemical impurities that are harmful to health, according to research by the RIVM. As of October 1, flavored e-cigarettes are prohibited and may only taste like tobacco.

The Fischer family has not banned the vape. “My husband switched to a smaller one. It contains a much smaller battery.”