ODH warns of rising risk of children poisoned by vape liquid

During a press conference this week, Ohio Department of Health Director, Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, warned of the rising danger of children being poisoned by the liquid used in e-cigarettes and vapes (Source: “More young children are getting sick from vape liquid; they don't even have to smoke it,” Columbus Dispatch, Oct. 19).
 
The number of e-cigarette exposures reported to the state’s poison centers has nearly tripled over the past seven years from 130 in 2015 to 360 in 2022. So far this year, 328 exposures have been recorded, signaling another likely increase. 
 
Dr. Vanderhoff said most of those exposures, over 70%, have been reported in children 5 years old and younger. Most exposures of children to liquid nicotine are through ingestion and as many as a third of those children have developed symptoms such as vomiting, fast heart rates and irritation of the mouth, said Dr. Hannah Hays, medical director of the Central Ohio Poison Center and chief of toxicology for Nationwide Children's Hospital.  
 
Officials said the best way to prevent such exposures is for adults to store their liquid nicotine products somewhere that is up and away and out of sight of children, preferably locked in a cabinet or box.