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Parents in Western Australia are being warned about the dangers of vaping, after a spike in calls to the poisons helpline.
New data shows an increased number of infants and young children are being exposed to the potentially deadly chemicals, prompting a warning from doctors.
The WA poison information centre has recorded a jump in the number of calls linked to vapes and liquid refills, from 14 in 2019, to 78 so far this year.
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The hotline has recorded a 550 percent increase in calls in the past five years, as use of vapes becomes more common.
Last year, five of those incidents involved children younger than 12 months.
Emergency physician and clinical toxicologist Kerry Hoggett said even a small amount could be fatal to a young child.
"There certainly have been deaths of infants who have been exposed to nicotine containing liquids, it's a small number," Hoggett said.
"The most common thing we see from skin exposure and eye exposure is just local irritation and local redness, local pain and maybe watery eyes."
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Doctors want parents to stop leaving vapes lying around the house during, and after use and say liquid refills should be locked and out of reach.
They say common sense is often ignored and too many people underestimate the risks of vaping.
"Some of the flavouring agents are known to cause permanent damage to lungs," Hoggett said.
