User:Ismaray Ruiz/sandbox

Product Liability
Multiple reports from the U.S. Fire Administration conclude that electronic cigarettes have been combusting and injuring people and surrounding areas alike. The composition of a cigarette is the cause of this, as the cartridges that are meant to contain the liquid mixture are in such close proximity to the battery. A research report by the U.S. Fire Administration supports this, stating that, “Unlike mobile phones, some e-cigarette lithium-ion batteries within e-cigarettes offer no protection to stop the coil overheating”. In 2015 the U.S. Fire Administration noted in their report that electronic cigarettes are not created by Big Tobacco or other tobacco companies, but by independent factories that have little quality control. Because of this low quality control when made, electronic cigarettes have led to numerous incidents in which people are hurt, or in which the surrounding area is damaged.

Most incidents in which electronic cigarettes have been known to explode, occurred when the device itself is charging, usually within 10 minutes. When an e-cigarette combusts, it creates a fire hazard, especially if the electronic cigarette is left on its own with no supervision. Multiple case studies have shown that electronic cigarettes are at risk of this while they are charging. The U.S. Fire Administration states that, “E-cigarettes left charging for long period, especially when unattended, have led to fires in homes and cars,”. This can cause two issues. The first issue would be the device causing a fire while charging and while in use, in which a person may be harmed but they can relatively quickly put out the fire with minimal damage to them and their surroundings. Some of the incidents that the U.S. Fire Administration looked at portrayed that this scenario only occurred about 8% of the time, leaving 9 people injured and 2 people with serious burns. The second issue would be if the device is left alone charging and the person goes off into another room or leaves the house completely, and the device implodes. In the cases in which fires were started, 52% of the fires were small scale or minor. In those cases people were around to stop the fire, but what about the other cases in which a person doesn't notice the fire or if they aren’t even in the house when the fire starts? 32% of cases showcase a moderate fire and 4% of cases showcase that the fire destroyed the room the device was in and its contents. Another report from the U.S. Fire Administration states the following, “In 27 incidents, the fire spread was moderate, where the burned area was larger than 6 inches in diameter, but the fire was extinguished by occupants before the fire department arrived. In 10 incidents, the fire spread was major and involved significant portions of a building and required suppression by the fire department," . The U.S. Fire Administration also notes that in most cases, when the device has combusted, the fire produced spreads to nearby clothing, carpets, drapes, etc . About 66% of explosions led to a fire, because of the contents in the radius of the explosion.