Read: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love (or at Least Tolerate) Vaping
In an incredibly unchill turn of events, Kenneth Barbero of Albany was left with missing teeth, burnt hands, and hole in his tongue after his vape exploded in his mouth, CNN reports.
Videos by VICE
“[It was like] an M80 bomb went off in my mouth,” Barbero told local station WTEN, presumably mumbling a bit because of the mangled tongue. “When I hit the button, I saw a huge yellow light. The next thing I know, I’m on the floor and my arms are paralyzed.”
While some studies suggest that vaping is a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes, vapesplosions like this aren’t nearly as rare as one would hope. There have been at least 40 reported e-cigarette fires and explosions since 2009, causing gruesome injuries like battery acid burns, as well as broken necks and teeth. One guy had his entire leg go up in flames after his vape exploded at a gas station.
But fear not, the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association reassured vape aficionados that the e-cigarettes are totally safe, as long as the lithium batteries—the same batteries that caused all those hoverboard explosions not too long ago—are charged with the correct charger. Watch yourself, Tostitos Tyler.
