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Electronic cigarette survey
Published: 15/04/2014
A recent survey carried out by the six North Wales Trading Standards services
into the safety of electronic cigarettes has revealed some worrying results.
Twelve adaptors and ten electronic cigarettes were purchased across the six
authorities and Flintshire, the lead authority collated the results.
The results from the exercise revealed 100 per cent failure rate against safety
regulations. A significant number of the charging adaptors failed to comply
with electrical safety requirements, whilst all of the electronic cigarettes
assessed were found to be lacking adequate instructions and markings, leading
to concerns that users are unaware of how to charge the devices safely.
Follow up action will be carried out by each local authority in connection with
the matter and steps will be taken to remove all unsafe devices that were
identified in the survey, from sale.
Trading Standards services would advise consumers who purchase electronic
cigarettes to always check that products are supplied with adequate safety
instructions and to follow them when charging the product, never leave the
product unattended when charging, never leave the product on charge overnight
and always ensure the adapter is suitable for the electrical characteristics of
the product.
If consumers have any concerns relating to the safety of electronic cigarettes
they should contact their local Trading Standards Service via the Citizens
Advice Consumer Service helpline on telephone number 08454 040506 (English
language) or 08454 040505 (Welsh language)
Photo caption: Staff from North Wales Trading Standards testing electronic
cigarettes.
Notes to Editors
There have been a number of incidents across the UK in which electronic
cigarettes have caught fire whilst being charged. The fire service has been
called out on a number of occasions. The products are a relatively new
innovation on the market and some are being supplied without adequate safety
information. Experts have found that some of the products have no cut off
mechanism which means that the products will continually charge even though
they have reached the optimum charging level. This leads to an increased risk
of them overheating and catching fire.