An Idaho man was seriously injured when an e-cigarette exploded in his mouth — scorching his skin and knocking out seven of his teeth.
Andrew Hall, of Pocatello, said he was vaping before going to work this week when the device suddenly blew up.
The father of three was rushed to intensive care at his local hospital, where doctors had to remove chunks of plastic from his throat and lips, according to Yahoo.
Hall — who was nursing second degree burns on his cheek — posted gruesome photos of his injuries to his Facebook page along with a warning.
“I Vape (I know, terrible and uncool) but I no longer do and I hope to possible sway those that do to maybe reevaluate or find other methods of smoking,” the 30-year-old car salesman wrote.
“I’ve been doing this for about a year now and assure you I did not do anything I wasn’t supposed to (battery was in right, always had the shop put it together when I first bought it and add things and maintenance it the right way while taking their advice) but it exploded in my face,” Hall wrote.
One of the photos Hall posted is of the vape pen’s exploded battery. Though it’s not clear what model Hall was smoking, batteries are thought to be the cause of the 25-plus e-cigarette explosions reported in the US since 2009.
“The shape and construction of e-cigarettes can make them more likely than other products with lithium-ion batteries to behave like ‘flaming rockets’ when a battery fails,” according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
After posting photos of his injuries, several social media users accused Hall of faking his injuries. Hall then posted some photos of his damaged apartment to prove them wrong.
“The torch marks are on the wall and roof are continuations from my face. Also the explosion downward broke my sink. I’m interested in the same comments from certain people to see what kind words you have to say now,” he said, responding to the trolls.
Hall was not immediately available for comment.