News story

Take charge of battery safety when using e-cigarettes

Follow safety advice from OPSS and our partners to take charge of e-cigarette battery safety.

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

There have been rare incidents of E-cigarettes or “vapes” exploding and seriously injuring people. It has been suggested that battery-related issues may lead to vape explosions. Our below safety tips may help you avoid a vape battery explosion or fire.

  • Only use the charger that was supplied with the vape for charging. Don’t charge your vape overnight and regularly check your device when it is charging. Unplug your vape when it is fully charged.
  • Charge your vape on a clean, flat surface and away from anything that can easily catch fire. Ensure you can clearly see your vape when it is charging.
  • Ensure that you read and follow the safety instructions, markings or warnings on or supplied with the vape. Contact the manufacturer if you have any further questions or if your vape wasn’t supplied with instructions.
  • Consider using vape devices with safety features and don’t remove or disable safety features.
  • Only use genuine and recommended batteries for your vaping device. Don’t let your battery encounter metal items. Store removable and spare batteries in a plastic case to prevent accidental contact. Keep batteries out of the reach of children.
  • Regularly inspect your vape batteries and replace your battery immediately if it is damaged, leaking or not functioning properly. Dispose of batteries at recycle or disposal points.
  • Protect your vape from extreme temperatures by not leaving it in direct sunlight or in your car on a freezing cold night.

Support our campaign by retweeting us or sending out these important messages yourself, using the hashtag #vapebatterysafety.

We have partnered with Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) to produce the campaign materials and raise awareness. We are also working with the following organisations Electrical Safety First, Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA), Public Health England and the fire service to raise awareness.

Download our campaign materials:

Poster:

E-Cigarette Vape Battery Safety Poster English

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alt.formats@beis.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Twitter Template:

E-Cigarette Vape Battery Safety Twitter Template 1 English

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alt.formats@beis.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

E-Cigarette Vape Battery Safety Twitter Template 2 English

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alt.formats@beis.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

E-Cigarette Vape Battery Safety Twitter Template 3 English

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alt.formats@beis.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

E-Cigarette Vape Battery Safety Twitter Template 4 English

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alt.formats@beis.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

E-Cigarette Vape Battery Safety Twitter Template 5 English

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alt.formats@beis.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Welsh language materials:

E-Cigarette Vape Battery Safety Poster Welsh

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alt.formats@beis.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

E-Cigarette Vape Battery Safety Twitter Template 1 Welsh

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alt.formats@beis.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

E-Cigarette Vape Battery Safety Twitter Template 2 Welsh

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alt.formats@beis.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

E-Cigarette Vape Battery Safety Twitter Template 3 Welsh

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alt.formats@beis.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

E-Cigarette Vape Battery Safety Twitter Template 4 Welsh

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alt.formats@beis.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

E-Cigarette Vape Battery Safety Twitter Template 5 Welsh

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alt.formats@beis.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Updates to this page

Published 17 February 2020