Manufacturers say the e-cigarette will help smokers improve their health by smoking cessation. But a man who believed them has knocked out all his teeth in a shocking explosion.

A Florida man has been in global headlines after an e-cigarette blew up in his mouth, knocking out teeth and injuring his tongue.

Tom Holloway, 57, of Niceville was treated in a burn clinic after firemen responded to his wife's call for help.

A problem in the device's battery reportedly caused the explosion.

"Whenever the battery ignited it was basically like him holding a bottle rocket in his mouth," Chief Butch Parker told ABC affiliate WEAR.

Thomas Kiklas, co-founder of the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, told Associated Press the industry has not heard of an e-cigarette exploding. He cited a federal report that said 2.5 million Americans used electronic cigarettes last year.

"There have been billions and billions of puffs on the cigarettes and we have not heard of this happening before," he said.

The e-cigarette has been promoted to be better than nicotine patches for smokers who are trying to quit because it allows the user to slowly stop while enjoying the act of smoking a cigarette-shaped device.

Traditional cigarette emits harmful toxins from burnt tobacco, while the e-cigarette only releases a vaporized solution that looks like tobacco smoke. Long-term data on its effects on the human body is lacking.

Now that there has been an incident of an e-cigarette explosion, smokers trying to quit and considering e-cigarettes are probably thinking twice before getting the device for themselves.