'Beware E-Cig Nicotine Threat To Children' Warns Charity Chief

STOCKPORT, U.K. - Sept. 9, 2014 - PRLog -- A national children’s charity chief has added her voice to a growing tide of advice urging parents to keep electronic cigarette refills away from young children because of the risk of poisoning.

Val Jackson, chief executive officer with Action for Sick Children said parents need to be more aware that e-cigarette refills present a real risk to youngsters who handle them.

She was speaking after a group of doctors from Birmingham issued a warning about a two-year-old girl who became ill after licking some of the liquid, containing nicotine, from an e-cigarette refill.

“Parents need to keep electronic cigarette refills away from young children because of the risk of poisoning,” said Miss Jackson speaking from her Cheshire HQ, “I agree whole-heartedly with the advice from the doctors in Birmingham that parents need to be wary”.

The infant who sparked the warning was taken to hospital after she began vomiting. The child recovered, but the doctors pointed out that high doses of nicotine can be lethal and advised parents to treat nicotine refills in the same way they would white spirit, medicines or bleach.

The doctors pointed out that there had been a boom in nicotine poisoning due to a surge in popularity of e-cigarettes, with more than two million people in the UK thought to be using them.

Dr Sanjay Gupta, from the department of paediatrics at Birmingham’s Good Hope Hospital, said: "Everywhere you go there are e-cigarettes and vapour bars, more and more children are coming into contact with small bottles full of concentrated liquid nicotine."

About 40mg of nicotine is thought to be a lethal dose in adults. Much smaller doses would be lethal for children.

For further information click onto: www.actionforsickchildren.org.uk

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