Has coverage for exploding-vape suits gone up in smoke? PropertyCasualty 360

By Jonathan B. Isaacson, KD partner, and Andrew A. Lipkowitz, KD attorney published by PropertyCasualty 360  on April 2, 2021.

E-cigarettes or “vape pens,” battery-powered devices which produce an aerosol or vapor, have been on the market since 2003 but have become widely used in recent years, according to the American Heart Association.

A study released by the CDC in September 2020 concluded that sales of e-cigarettes increased by 122.2% between September 2014 and May 2020, from 7.7 million to 17.1 million units sold over a four-week interval. That same study also revealed that e-cigarettes have been the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. youths since 2014.

The health risks associated with e-cigarettes and vape pens have been widely reported, particularly the outbreak of lung diseases linked to vaping, which peaked in September 2019. Further, a study by the Stanford University School of Medicine published in August 2020 indicated a link between vaping and increased risk of COVID-19, finding, among other things, that young people who had used e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days were almost five times as likely to experience symptoms of COVID-19.

Though such incidents appear less common, the risk of exploding e-cigarettes or vape pens can be equally serious, even deadly. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, there were 195 reported e-cigarette fire and explosion incidents reported by the U.S. media between January 2009-December 31, 2016. According to another report, from 2015-2017, an estimated 2,035 e-cigarette explosion and burn injuries were presented to U.S. hospital emergency departments, indicating that the number of incidents and injuries arising from exploding vape pens is more prevalent than has been reported in the media.

Read more at the full article.