Story highlights Vaping accident was due to battery, mom says

Expert says such explosions can be prevented

(CNN) Kenneth Barbero of Albany, NY was enjoying a nice millennial vaping session when the hand-held device he was using blew up in his face; knocking out teeth, ripping a hole in his tongue and leaving his hands covered in burns.

Kenneth Barbero shows injuries sustained in a vaping accident .

Barbero's tongue was ripped open.

"[It was] like an M80 bomb went off in my mouth," Barbero told CNN affiliate WTEN through understandably muffled speech.

Barbero's mother told WTEN she thinks the vaporizer's battery exploded. "The battery had exploded inside and everything shot out...went into his mouth and burned everything," she said.

When it comes to vaping accidents, these explosions seem to be a common thread: Earlier in May, an Alabama teen was burned after a classmate's e-cigarette exploded and sent a hot battery flying into his face. In February 2016, dramatic gas station security footage showed a man's leg being engulfed by flames, an apparent result of another e-cigarette explosion.

JUST WATCHED E-cigarette explodes in man's pocket Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH E-cigarette explodes in man's pocket 01:14

The list goes on and on, but according to a representative from the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association , the occurrence is both rare and preventable.

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