A young man in New York is in recovery after a hand-held vaporizer exploded in his mouth and burned a hole straight through his tongue.
Kenneth Barbero, of Albany, was reportedly in the middle of a vaping session when the device suddenly blew up, knocking out his teeth, burning a hole in his tongue, and tearing up his hands.
"[It was] like an M80 bomb went off in my mouth," Barbero told WTEN.
Barbero’s mom explained that she thinks the battery actually exploded, causing the whole vaporizer to char her son’s mouth.
"The battery had exploded inside and everything shot out...went into his mouth and burned everything," she said.
When the vaporizer exploded seemingly out of nowhere, Barbero was reportedly home alone, terrified of burning alive in the house.
Barbero is now recovering from his injuries in the hospital, but he hopes his story can warn others about the dangers of hand-held vaporizers.
As for Barbero’s vape hobby, he doesn’t think he’ll want to try it again anytime soon.
“When it blows up in your face, you’re not having a good time,” he said. “Look at my story and really think about the next time they hit the vape.”
Tom Kilkas, a representative from the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, advises people to make sure they’re educated about vape pens before using them.
"It's not so much an issue of the e-vapor product but with the lithium batteries they are using, and most are mismatched to the charger," he said.
To avoid any accidents like Barbero’s, Kilkas recommends using only the batteries and chargers designed for the specific vaporizer.
