While it’s been several years since we reported on an e-cigarette exploding while charging or being used by a consumer, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. Case in point: A Wichita, KS, man says the device he used to try to beat his nicotine habit erupted, burning his hands and damaging nearby walls. 

The man tells KAKE that he had recently purchased the e-cigarette and was following the manufacturer’s guidelines on how to use the device when it simply exploded.

The man says he charged the battery and inserted it into the device.

“I heard a sizzling like it was hitting and I hadn’t pushed the button yet,” the man recalls. “I was on my way to listen to it and when I went to listen to it, it just went bam, like a bullet.”

The man says the device burst into two pieces that hit two walls in his home and scattered metal and plastic fragments across the room.

While the man tells KAKE he suffered minor burns, he believes it could have been worse, noting that the pieces shot across the room with enough force they could have killed someone.

After the incident, the man took the e-cigarette back to the store. Employees there told the man he needed to purchase a small computer chip to keep the battery from exploding, but he says he wasn’t given that information when he bought the device.

The volatility of e-cigarettes has been a concern for consumer advocates after such explosions became an almost common occurrence for consumers.

Starting back in 2012, Consumerist reported on several incidents in which the devices burst into flames or caused injury to consumers.

Back in 2013, the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association said it was working with government agencies to implement rules requiring that companies manufacturing the devices carried liability insurance on all products.

Last year, advocates shared concerns that the secondary risks of e-cigarettes, such as poisoning and a tendency for the devices to explode, could be more deadly than traditional cigarettes.

E-cigarette explodes in man’s hand, blows through wall [KAKE]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.