A troubling report states that in February, there were 215 poison center calls involving e-cigarettes, the CDC said in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. That’s compared to one per month in September 2010.
And 51% of those calls involved children 5 and under, officials said.
Since not all poisonings get reported, the CDC said the total number of cases is likely even higher.
Nicotine is a drug, and in its concentrated liquid form, poison experts warn it is also significantly toxic, even in small doses. E-cigarettes, which are not required to be childproof, feature flavors like spearmint, banana and bubble gum, making them appealing to kids.
“What’s attractive to kids: It’s the smell. It’s the scent. It’s the color,” said Gaylord Lopez, director of the Georgia Poison Center. “A kid’s not going to know the difference between a poison and something they can drink.”
