The Fort Plain police department New York have released an official statement in the tragic death of an 18 month old boy, names Eli James “EJ” Hotaling. EJ had passed away shortly after swallowing pure 100mg liquid nicotine concentrate that his mom used for mixing her own e-Liquid (the death was caused by strong nicotine concentrate for mixing, and not pre-mixed e-Liquid).
PLEASE BE AWARE: NICOTINE IS EXTREMELY POISONOUS AT LEVELS OF 100MG. IT IS COLOURLESS, ODOURLESS AND IT IS A VERY STRONG, DEADLY POISON IF USED WRONG. ALL NICOTINE, INCLUDING STANDARD E-LIQUID, SHOULD BE KEPT AWAY FROM CHILDREN AND PETS, AND ALWAYS IN A CHILDPROOF BOTTLE. ALTHOUGH PRE-MIXED LOW NICOTINE E-LIQUID DOES NOT POSE A BIG RISK, NICOTINE CONCENTRATE AT LEVELS LIKE 100MG CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS IF HANDLED INCORRECTLY.
This is now the first death related to the pure liquid nicotine used for diluting into e-Liquid. It is easy to forget where you left something and kids are hard to watch all the time, but this unsettling story just shows how careful you have to be if you plan to start mixing your own e-Liquids at home with large bottles of high strength pure nicotine concentrate.
The investigation made by police on Dec 9th 2014, showed Eli was found convulsing on the floor, and shortly after this lost consciousness and became unresponsive. After calling 911, EJ was pronounced dead on arrival at Little Falls Hospital, New York. The official cause of death was listed as being “cardiac arrhythmia caused by the ingestion of nicotine”.
The nicotine was bought by a vape store located in America. There was no problem with the product itself, however the product MAY not have been kept in childproof bottles, along with poor care and practise while handling the nicotine, which led to the harshest of life lessons. Belinda Hotaling, Ej’s mom, would regularly buy the nicotine in 100mg large bottles, to mix her own e-liquid at home. Whilst mixing your own e-Liquid can be fun and cheaper than buying e-Liquid, people have to be aware just how dangerous pure nicotine can be.
According to New York police, the nicotine bottle may not be child proof (NEW INFO: THE CAP FOR THE BOTTLE WAS NOT RECOVERED BY POLICE. THE FAMILY BELIEVE THE BOTTLE HAD NO CHILD SAFE CAP AND THE VAPE SHOP BELIEVE IT DID. MORE INFORMATION WILL COME TO LIGHT IF THIS GOES TO COURT. THE TODDLER HOWEVER DID DRINK THE NICOTINE FROM AN OPEN BOTTLE ON A LOW TABLE). The Hotaling family are planning to sue the vape company, and maybe rightly so if the bottle did not have a childproof cap, but the bottle being open at the time may stop any prosecution. This unfortunate tragedy shows the biggest danger that exists in our industry.
Although at the moment there are no quality standards for e-Liquid (expected 2016), it is still a current legal requirement that all toxic products containing nicotine should show warning labels, place of manufacture and also have a childproof cap. The company who supplied the nicotine in this case may or may not have been child secured so expect the family to win there court case, if the bottles weren’t secured.
However, The blame shouldn’t fall on the whole vapour industry, the vape shops and e-cig sellers we see all use childproof caps and they seem to care about there customers health. It’s good to see an industry that doesn’t think about money first, and are genuinely trying to improve public health whilst making a living. For example, did you know that there are no laws preventing e-Liquid to be sold to an under 18 year old in the UK? These laws will not be in effect until 2016, but all the vape shops we see still refuse sale to minors, including us, because it is morally wrong and it isn’t all about making an extra sale. Same goes for our e-Liquid ingredients. At present there are no e-Liquid standards in place so vape shops could buy the cheapest ingredients they can find, but Vvapour however still use certified, pharmaceutical grade ingredients for all there e-Liquid, use sterilized equipment for purity and all in a childproof bottles, because again, it is the right way to do it.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Our sympathy goes out to the family and we could only imagine the horror you suffered. All vapers MUST be aware just how deadly pure nicotine could be. Usually speaking bottles of e-Liquid have very little threat, but pure nicotine is a strong toxic poison, which should be in a safety bottle and stored out of reach. If you mix your own e-Liquid at home then please ensure you do it away from kids/pets, you wear gloves yourself (as nicotine can poison you through your skin if you handle enough), and please check the e-Liquid you made has the nicotine concentrate calculated correctly. Pets sometimes like the smell of e-Liquid, so high nicotine strengths of e-Liquid should be kept well away from pets too.
read more here: e-Liquid Nicotine Death
Apparently the bottle was left without the lid on. On a low table. This is not the fault of the Vape shop but negligence on the part of the parent and her sister.
Thankyou for the information, the post will be edited