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There were 92,973 nicotine exposures in children aged 1 month to 5 years from 2016 through 2023, according to a national analysis of U.S. poison center reports published in JAMA Network Open. Trends over time indicate nicotine exposures from e-cigarette are rising as vaping devices are growing in popularity. Researchers found 2 pediatric deaths associated with e-cigarette liquid ingestion, and most exposure cases occurred in toddlers (median age 1.25 years). Exposures involving traditional tobacco products declined from 9,122 cases in 2016 to 5,204 in 2023, representing a 43% decrease. At the same time, e-cigarette exposures increased from 2,044 to 7,009 cases, representing a 243% increase. Ingestion remained the most common route (about 80,000 cases), but inhalation exposures increased from 70 cases in 2016 to 5,292 in 2023, largely involving e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine. Most cases caused no or only minor effects (98.9%). Early phase symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and other symptoms that may commonly present at urgent care.
Don’t touch that: Pediatric nicotine risks are shifting toward exposures related to e-cigarettes, and the authors suggest that “the brightly colored appearance of many e-cigarette products may facilitate these exposures.” What should be equally concerning to health leaders is that many cases of nicotine exposure may go unreported when the parents or caregivers don’t notice the child’s exposure, or quite simply when the parents are embarrassed and don’t bring their child in for evaluation.