e-cigarette explodes plugged into USB port

[Hum]

An Atlanta woman says she is lucky to be alive after an electronic cigarette she was charging in her computer's USB port exploded ? and burned a hole in her rug.

"If I hadn't had been home, I would have lost my dogs, I would have lost my cats, I would have lost my house," Elizabeth Wilkowski told WSB-TV. "It was like, 'Kaboom!' And I see this flame shooting across my living room."

Wilkowski says she used a cleaning rag to grab the e-cigarette and extinguish the flame.

The store where she bought the device ? a smoke-free cigarette that delivers a nicotine kick in a cool mist ? said it no longer carries the eHit brand e-cigarette, which is made in China by Shenzhen Seego Technology.

According to the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, there are more than 3.5 million e-cigarettes in use in the United States.

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[Osiris]

Cigarettes are your friend, they wouldn't want to burn your house down.

[FiB3R]

Mass produced Chinese crap. It's just a rechargeable battery (more than likely Li-Ion), nothing more.

 

Literally has zero to do with it being an e-cig, the "cig" part is inert. It could just as easily have been a phone, or a laptop.

 

These little batteries hold a fair amount of energy, and if the charging circuit is defective, they can go pop.

[Hum]

Just use USB 3 -- you'll be fine.

[DJGM]

Typical dangerous cheap Chinese knock-off battery. The e-cig wasn't at fault.

[Growled Member]

Typical dangerous cheap Chinese knock-off battery. The e-cig wasn't at fault.

 

I agree. Stop buying Made in China now.