A BABY has died after allegedly being poisoned by nicotine vaping liquid - as experts demand a crackdown on e-cigarettes.

Coroners in the Australian state of Victoria are investigating the death of an infant after it was alleged the child had been exposed to lethal levels of liquid nicotine used in an e-cigarette.

The substance is illegal in Australia but can still be bought from international retailers and shipped in.

According to The Herald Sun, the coroner refused to release details around the incident but has confirmed the death was a direct result of exposure to liquid nicotine.

Just one millilitre of liquid nicotine concentrate can be fatal if swallowed, splashed or inhaled by an infant.

Figures from the Poisons Information Centres found there were 70 poisonings from e-cigarettes in 2016 - more than double from the previous year, Daily Mail Australia reports.

Of the 202 e-cigarette poisoning cases recorded in Australia 76 were children, including 62 infants.

Quit Victoria director Dr Sarah White said the steep increase was a "real problem".

"Leaving aside any argument or discussion about smoking cessation or harm reduction, what we really need to happen is some basic consumer safety standards around these liquids," she said.

The Australian Government's Department of Health stated that the World Health Organisation was yet to find conclusive evidence that liquid nicotine was safe.

"The rising popularity of e-cigarette use internationally has also corresponded with an increasing number of reported nicotine poisonings due to exposure to or ingestion of e-liquids," a statement from National Health and Medical Research Council CEO Anne Kelso read.

"The effects of exposure range from relatively mild, including irritation of the eyes and skin, nausea and vomiting to severe life-threatening illness and in some cases, death."

In an unrelated incident, a novice vaper was yesterday reported to have died in a freak accident after an e-cigarette he was using for the first time before exploding and cutting an artery into his face.