The New York Times recently reported on the danger “e-liquids,” i.e., liquid nicotine tinctured with flavors and chemicals, pose to young children. E-liquids are the main ingredients in e-cigarettes and, according to the article. They are also neurotoxins so powerful that as little as a teaspoon of the liquid, highly diluted, can kill a small child. The article notes that the e-liquids’ various colors and flavors such as chocolate and bubble gum may make them particularly appealing to children.
“It’s not a matter of if a child will be seriously poisoned or killed, it’s a matter of when,” according to Lee Cantrell, director of the San Diego division of the California Poison Control System and pharmacy professor at UC San Francisco.
The article also notes that the number of reported accidental poisonings linked to e-liquids in 2013 (1,351) represents a 300% increase since 2012.
Since the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate such liquids currently, the amount of nicotine levels in these liquids varies. According to the article, most range between 1.8% and 2.4%, which will make a child sick if ingested but will not generally be lethal. However, e-liquids with higher concentrations of nicotine (such as 7.2% or 10%) are available on the Internet and may be lethal for both children and adults. Less than one tablespoon of a 7.2% nicotine concentration e-liquid could kill an adult, according to Dr. Cantrell.
