News
Increase in e-cigarette juice related calls to poison centers
Monday, April 7, 2014
Nebraska Radio Network
A new Centers for Disease Control finds a dramatic increase in e-cigarette-related calls to poison centers due to children drinking the nicotine juice. Dr. Ron Kirschner is the Medical Director of the Nebraska Regional Poison Center and says this is starting to become more of an issue here.
The CDC reports the number of calls to poison centers regarding nicotine juice rose from one-per-month in September of 2010 to 215 in February of 2014. More than half the calls concerned children 5 years and under. Dr. Kirschner says the juice comes in candy and fruit flavors and smells good so it is appealing to young children. However, the juice contains nicotine and is very dangerous. He says if consumed in that concentrated form it can cause seizures, muscle weakness and even death. He says another problem is that some of the packaging is not child resistant.
Dr. Kirschner recommends treating the juice like medication and keep it locked up and out of reach of small hands. He also recommends keeping the Nebraska Regional Poison Center number handy – 1-800-222-1222.
