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E-cigarettes: an evidence update <br /> <br />83 <br />Figure 22: Age of poisoned patients overall reported in telephone enquiries to NPIS <br />2013/4 <br /> <br /> <br />Exposures to poisonous liquid among children are of concern; however they should be <br />taken in context. The same report from the NPIS recorded 208 exposures to liquid in <br />reed diffusers, 1,168 exposures to pesticides and more than 600 to paracetamol. E- <br />liquids seem to contribute towards domestic poisoning incidents but regulations, such <br />as child safety caps, could limit this risk. <br /> <br />The clinical outcomes of exposures to e-liquids, as detailed in the NPIS report, were <br />predominantly either ‘no toxicity’ or ‘mild toxicity’. There were two reported cases of <br />‘moderate toxicity’ and one ‘severe’ case that required treatment in an intensive care <br />unit. Toxicity symptoms included conjunctivitis, irritation of the oral cavity, anxiety, <br />vomiting, hyperventilation and changes in heart rate. <br /> <br />Fire <br />A number of news articles report the risk of fire and explosions from EC [147, 149, 152]. <br />These reports suggest that faulty or incompatible chargers are the main causes of EC <br />related fires along with faults relating to lithium batteries [152]. In order to assess the <br />risks of fire we used the two data sources below: <br /> <br />1) In 2014, the BBC made Freedom of Information requests to UK fire services [153] <br />and reported that there were 43 recorded call outs for fires related to EC in 201 3 and 62 <br />between 1 January 2014 and 15 November 2014 . They added that call outs to EC <br />related fires were rising in frequency. This report was based on responses from 43 out <br />of 46 fire services in the UK [153, 154] <br />0 <br />2000 <br />4000 <br />6000 <br />8000 <br />10000 <br />12000 <br />14000 <br />16000 <br />< 5 years 5-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70+Unknown <br />Nu <br />m <br />b <br />e <br />r <br /> <br />o <br />f <br /> <br />e <br />n <br />q <br />u <br />i <br />r <br />i <br />e <br />s <br /> <br />Patient age