The young man's teeth were blown out when his electronic cigarette exploded. His injuries were so severe that he was admitted to the UW Medicine Regional Burn Center at Harborview -- one of 15 such cases between October 2015 and June 2016. 

All of the patients were injured using electronic cigarettes or personal vaporizers. Those cases are described in a letter authored by Harborview trauma/burn caregivers published in today’s edition of the New England Journal of Medicine  

Among these patients, 80 percent suffered flame burns and 33 percent received chemical burns from the alkali elements in the exploding batteries. In addition to burns, 27 percent of the victims suffered a blast injury.