Cops Report First Vape-Related Kid Death After Toddler Drinks E-Juice
Police in Fort Plain, New York say a one-year-old child died this week after ingesting liquid nicotine, the "juice" used in electronic cigarettes, WABC-TV reports.
According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, this would be the first confirmed accidental death related to the substance and the second death overall, after a 2012 suicide where a man injected himself with liquid nicotine.
"It does appear to be just a tragic accident," said village police Sgt. Austin Ryan, adding that the glass bottle containing the liquid nicotine did not have a childproof cap.
The child's identity was withheld. His death is under investigation.
Emergency workers went to a home on Garfield Street at 4:06 p.m. Tuesday after getting a call that a child was "unresponsive." An ambulance took the boy to Little Falls Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:53 p.m.
In June, New York lawmakers passed a bill requiring all liquid nicotine to have child resistant packaging. Within the next few weeks, Governor Cuomo is expected to sign the bill into law.
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