Father Pleads for Regulators to Step In After Teenage Son Injured By Exploding Vape
by Jimmy Hafrey Jan 28, 2016
When 16-year-old Ty Greer started vaping, he never imagined it could lead to such a nightmare. But everything changed when his vapor device exploded, leaving him with major burns, broken teeth, and multiple serious injuries. Now his father, Perry Greer, is going public with a call for regulators to take action and ban the sale of vape devices to all minors.
"It lit my kid's face on fire, busted two teeth out," Greer said. "It burned the back of his throat, burned his tongue very badly. If he wasn't wearing glasses, he possibly could have lost his eyes." The father said it was excruciating to see his teenage son in such pain. After rushing Ty to the hospital, he watched as the teen writhed in agony. "He wanted to die. That is how much pain he was in."
Greer said his son was using a Chinese made vape called the Wotofo Phantom that is commonly available in Canada. "He pushed the button and blew in, and then you wait a couple of seconds, and then you puff on it. It was about two inches from his mouth and it just blew apart."
The hospital treated Ty for first and second degree burns and he has also undergone two root canals to repair the damage. The teen suffered multiple lacerations and much of his face was covered in black char marks and burns. "It is horrific to see your kid with his face so burnt," Greer said.
Now the father is asking Canadian officials to change the laws to prohibit teens from buying these devices. Sales to minors are already banned in may parts of the country, but in Greer's native province of Alberta, the decision is left up to individual municipalities.
Les Hagen from Action on Smoking and Health said this tragedy is a prime example of why we desperately need federal and provincial regulations. While we don't want to see vapor devices banned completely, there need to be some safety standards. "We absolutely need product standards. For instance, they shouldn't explode in your mouth," Hagen said. "The other element with this particular incident is this product was sold to a minor, to a 16-year-old. We would like to see a ban on the sale of these products to minors, just like we have with cigarettes."
It is absolutely tragic to hear of teens that are injured by sub-standard vapor devices. Let's face it – most teenagers are impulsive and they will often purchase a vape without doing much research. When it comes to larger mods using massive batteries, this can be a recipe for disaster, especially when vape shops don't carefully screen the devices for safety and prohibit sales to minors. It's time to make sure our kids are protected. We need appropriate and careful regulation to stop the sale of vapor devices to teens and to insure some level of product safety.
Do you think federal regulators should make it illegal to sell vape devices to minors?
Jimmy Hafrey
Jimmy, lover, blogger, vaper and ex-smoker. I've been blogging about and supporting Vaping since 2009. They changed my life and I think history will show them as one of the most significant public health invention of the 21st century.
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Yet another hybrid mod, that is designed for advanced users, and people who understand battery safety. While I feel for the kid, there is a 99% likely hood, that he did not understand what he was using, or how to use it correctly. SMDH Allowing people to use these, who have no knowlege of battery safety or the device they are using is like handing a chainsaw to a toddler and expecting it to turn out ok. Also being 16 he shouldn't have had it anyway, legal or not, there is this thing called PARENTING.
Jay Gladieux says:
Hey Dad, the industry already has standards. What they can't control is people like your Son not getting educated on the use of Mech Mods because more than likely your Son misused the product. I agree that no one under 18 should be vaping but most if not all vape shops in the United States have self regulated standards to not allow anyone under 18 in a vape shop. You need to start a campaign in Alberta to have the shops not allow minors in, not getting the Government involved.
frater vapor says:
Hey, dad!
If your 16yo is vaping you should be supervising. This is sometimes also referred to as "parenting".
Hurricanegirl100 says:
Just Once! I'd like to see a journalist ask the questions that matter. What was your ohm level at? What kind of batteries were you using? We're you using a hybrid adapter?
A 16 year old kid who was Vaping a .18 ohm build on a badly stressed AA battery…I can totally see that happening. This kid's ignorance is a lot more dangerous to him than his mod would be if he knew what the hell he was doing!
william s. says:
How can they regulate who buys something from China online? US shops won't even let under 18 peeps inside! Its too bad this kid wanted to blow huge clouds and didn't know what he was doing. I feel for him but regulations are already on the books, at least here in US. Would be better to educate people about potential dangers of lithium ion batteries!
Jimmy Hafrey says:
We agree with you on the education side. Unfortunately, the FDA regulations made it where vape shops can't really teach you about the vapes anymore. This is a disservice to everyone.
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