The First 5 Solano Children and Families Commission has added electronic cigarettes to its Tobacco Education, Prevention and Investment Policy because of increased instances in Solano County of accidental child poisonings caused by those products, Matthew Davis, public communications officer, said.

Davis said the commission made the move after Solano County received reports of a 51-percent increase in accidental poisonings from January to September.

“The increase can be attributed to the saturation of smoke shops, availability of smoking products and lack of safety measures on tobacco products,” he said Tuesday.

Solano County wasn’t the only place that noticed the increase, he said.

“The American Association of Poison Control Centers reports receiving more than 3,000 e-cigarette and liquid nicotine exposures between January and September,” he said.

More than half of the reported exposures involved children younger than 6, Davis said.

He explained that exposure involved direct contact with the substance in some way, including ingestion, inhalation and absorption through the skin or eyes.

The commission amended its policy during its Oct. 17 meeting, Davis said.

“We were made aware of the hazards of e-cigarettes and recognized the need to amend existing policy,” First 5 Commissioner Patrick Duterte, a former Health and Social Services director, said.

“The revised policy now includes e-cigarettes and other forms of tobacco and nicotine products, intended to prevent child exposure and accidental poisonings,” Duterte said.

Davis said electronic cigarettes are not regulated by the state or federal government or Food and Drug Administration. He said they are not a recommended method for quitting smoking.

“First 5 Solano and Poison Control request the community’s assistance to prevent potential exposures in young children by discouraging the use of tobacco and nicotine products and keeping them out of reach at home,” Davis said.

Children and others exposed to electronic cigarettes can experience throat irritation, mouth ulcers, dry cough, dizziness, headache, nausea, allergic reactions and short-term adverse lung function similar to that caused by conventional cigarettes, he said.

On rare occasions, electronic smoking devices have also been known to explode, Davis said.

Those using the electronic cigarettes as well as other tobacco products need to protect their skin, Davis said, and anyone who has been exposed to potentially harmful chemicals should call Poison Control, 800-222-1222, and in life-trheatening emergencies should call 9-1-1.

First 5 Solano was organized after research indicated that a child’s brain develops most dramatically in the first five years of life, and that actions taken by parents and caregivers during those years have a meaningful impact throughout life.

In 1998, California voters approved Proposition 10, adding a 50-cents-per-pack tax on cigarettes to support programs for expectant parents and their children from birth to age 5.

First 5 Solano distributes about $4.5 million each in Prop. 10 funds to local programs and services to help those children and families.

Its Tobacco-Nicotine Education, Prevention and Investment Policy covers smoking or oral use of any tobacco or nicotine product, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, smokeless tobacco and other smoking devices, as well as clove cigarettes.

According to the policy, First 5 Solano programs and projects must provide a tobacco- and nicotine-free working environment for employees, visitors and clients, and keep the environment safe for families and children.

The policy calls for training and information to be provided to staff on the dangers of tobacco and nicotine products, as well as on smoking cessation and the dangers of second-hand smoke.

The agency must refuse tobacco and nicotine funding and divest itself of investments in those products.

In addition, the organization can distribute or make available materials related to cessation of smoking to those participating in commission programs.

Those interested in a list of tobacco- and nicotine-cessation sources may visit the websites www.tobaccofreesolano.org and www.solanocounty.com/depts/first5.

Those interested in information about poison control can visit Cal Poison Control’s website, www.aapcc.org.