These are the horrific images that hammer home the very real dangers of crystal meth. But they are not the familiar compare-and-contrast images of junkies who have lost their looks. Instead, they show the huge risks involved with making methamphetamine either at home or on the road. The photos, which include a car in flames and an exploded house, have been released as researchers warn of a crude new method of manufacturing meth that poses a risk even to those who stay away from the drug. In flames: A car lies on the side or a Tennessee road after an explosion occurred due to a passenger making 'shake-and-bake' methamphetamine. The crude new method of making meth is posing a risk even to those who never smoke the drug . Charred remains: The accident took place outside Clarksville. So-called shake-and-bake meth is produced by combining raw, unstable ingredients in a two-litre bottle . It is filling hospitals with thousands . of uninsured burn patients requiring millions of dollars in advanced . treatment - a burden so costly that it is contributing to the closure of . some burns units. So-called 'shake-and-bake' meth is produced by combining raw, unstable ingredients in a two-litre bottle. But if the person mixing the noxious . brew makes the slightest error, such as removing the cap too soon or . accidentally perforating the plastic, the concoction can explode, . searing flesh and causing permanent disfigurement, blindness or even . death. A survey of key hospitals in . America's most-active meth states showed that up to a third of patients . in some burns units were hurt while making meth, and most were . uninsured. The average treatment costs $6,000 per . day, but the average meth patient's hospital stay costs $130,000 - 60 . per cent more than other burns patients, according to a study by doctors . in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The influx of patients is . overwhelming hospitals and becoming a major factor in the closure of . some burns wards, according to the Associated Press report. Highly explosive: Firemen tackle a blaze from a shake-and-bake meth lab explosion in Union, Missouri, in 2010 . Tell-tale signs: Police found these shake-and-bake meth ingredients inside the house in Union . At least seven burns units across the . U.S. have shut down over the past six years, partly due to consolidation . but also because of the cost of treating uninsured patients, many of . whom are connected to methamphetamine. Burns experts agree that the annual . cost to taxpayers is well into the tens if not hundreds of millions of . dollars, although it is impossible to determine a more accurate number . because so many meth users lie about the cause of their burns. Larger meth labs have been bursting into flames for years, usually in basements, backyard sheds or other private spaces. But those were fires that people . could usually escape. Using the shake-and-bake method, drug-makers . typically hold the flammable concoction up close, causing burns from the . waist to the face. Jason Grellner of the Franklin County, Missouri, Sheriff's Department, said: 'You're holding a flame-thrower in your hands.' Also known as the 'one-pot' approach, . the method is popular because it uses less pseudoephedrine - a common . component in some cold and allergy pills. It also yields meth in minutes rather . than hours, and is cheaper and easier to conceal. Meth cooks can carry . all the ingredients in a ruck sack and mix them in a bathroom stall or . the seat of a car. The improvised system first emerged . several years ago, partly in response to attempts by many states to . limit or forbid over-the-counter access to pseudoephedrine. Since then, the shake-and-bake recipe has spread to become the method of choice. The interior of a home in Clarksville, Tennessee, damaged by a shake-and-bake meth lab explosion last month . A danger to neighbours: The damaged exterior of the same home . By 2010, about 80 per cent of labs . busted by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration were using . shake-and-bake recipes, said Pat Johnakin, a DEA agent specialising in . meth. So instead of a large lab that . supplies many users, there are now more people making meth for their . personal use. The consequences are showing up in emergency rooms and . burns wards. Dr Michael Smock, director of the . burns unit at Mercy Hospital St Louis, said: 'From what we see on the . medical side, that's the primary reason the numbers seem to be going up - . greater numbers of producers making smaller batches.' It is impossible to know precisely . how many people are burned while making shake-and-bake meth. Some avoid . medical treatment, and no one keeps exact track of those who go to the . hospital. But many burns centres in the most . active meth-producing states report sharp spikes in the number of . patients linked to meth. And experts say the trend goes well beyond . those facilities. In Indiana, about three-quarters of . meth busts now involve shake-and-bake. And injuries are rising sharply, . mostly because of burns, said Niki Crawford of the Indiana State Police . Meth Suppression Team. Highly addictive: Known as 'ice', methamphetamine crystals are smoked through a pipe . Indiana had 89 meth-related injuries . during the ten-year period ending in 2009. The state has had 70 in the . last 23 months, mostly from shake-and-bake labs, Ms Crawford said. What's more, meth-related burns often sear some of the body's most sensitive areas - the face and hands. Dr Lucy Wibbenmeyer, of the burns centre at the University of Iowa, said: . 'I don't think a lot of these patients will be able to re-enter . society. They'll need rehab therapy, occupational therapy, which is very . expensive.' Researchers at the University of Iowa . found that people burned while making meth typically have longer . hospital stays and more expensive bills than other burn patients - bills . that are frequently absorbed by the hospital since a vast majority of . the meth-makers lack insurance. Doctors at Bronson Methodist Hospital . in Kalamazoo, Michigan, performed a five-year study of meth patients in . the early 2000s, then a follow-up study in 2009-2010. Their investigation concurred with . the Iowa findings. The Kalamazoo study also found that meth burn victims . were more likely to suffer damage to the lungs and windpipe, spent more . time on ventilators and needed surgery more often. That report also found that only about . 10 per cent of meth patients had private insurance coverage, compared . with 59 percent of other patients. And in many cases, their injuries . leave them unable to work.
Crude manufacturing method is filling hospitals with uninsured burns victims .
Burden is so costly it is contributing to the closure of U.S. burns units .
These are the horrific images that hammer home the very real dangers of crystal meth. But they are not the familiar compare-and-contrast images of junkies who have lost their looks. Instead, they show the huge risks involved with making methamphetamine either at home or on the road. The photos, which include a car in flames and an exploded house, have been released as researchers warn of a crude new method of manufacturing meth that poses a risk even to those who stay away from the drug. In flames: A car lies on the side or a Tennessee road after an explosion occurred due to a passenger making 'shake-and-bake' methamphetamine. The crude new method of making meth is posing a risk even to those who never smoke the drug . Charred remains: The accident took place outside Clarksville. So-called shake-and-bake meth is produced by combining raw, unstable ingredients in a two-litre bottle . It is filling hospitals with thousands . of uninsured burn patients requiring millions of dollars in advanced . treatment - a burden so costly that it is contributing to the closure of . some burns units. So-called 'shake-and-bake' meth is produced by combining raw, unstable ingredients in a two-litre bottle. But if the person mixing the noxious . brew makes the slightest error, such as removing the cap too soon or . accidentally perforating the plastic, the concoction can explode, . searing flesh and causing permanent disfigurement, blindness or even . death. A survey of key hospitals in . America's most-active meth states showed that up to a third of patients . in some burns units were hurt while making meth, and most were . uninsured. The average treatment costs $6,000 per . day, but the average meth patient's hospital stay costs $130,000 - 60 . per cent more than other burns patients, according to a study by doctors . in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The influx of patients is . overwhelming hospitals and becoming a major factor in the closure of . some burns wards, according to the Associated Press report. Highly explosive: Firemen tackle a blaze from a shake-and-bake meth lab explosion in Union, Missouri, in 2010 . Tell-tale signs: Police found these shake-and-bake meth ingredients inside the house in Union . At least seven burns units across the . U.S. have shut down over the past six years, partly due to consolidation . but also because of the cost of treating uninsured patients, many of . whom are connected to methamphetamine. Burns experts agree that the annual . cost to taxpayers is well into the tens if not hundreds of millions of . dollars, although it is impossible to determine a more accurate number . because so many meth users lie about the cause of their burns. Larger meth labs have been bursting into flames for years, usually in basements, backyard sheds or other private spaces. But those were fires that people . could usually escape. Using the shake-and-bake method, drug-makers . typically hold the flammable concoction up close, causing burns from the . waist to the face. Jason Grellner of the Franklin County, Missouri, Sheriff's Department, said: 'You're holding a flame-thrower in your hands.' Also known as the 'one-pot' approach, . the method is popular because it uses less pseudoephedrine - a common . component in some cold and allergy pills. It also yields meth in minutes rather . than hours, and is cheaper and easier to conceal. Meth cooks can carry . all the ingredients in a ruck sack and mix them in a bathroom stall or . the seat of a car. The improvised system first emerged . several years ago, partly in response to attempts by many states to . limit or forbid over-the-counter access to pseudoephedrine. Since then, the shake-and-bake recipe has spread to become the method of choice. The interior of a home in Clarksville, Tennessee, damaged by a shake-and-bake meth lab explosion last month . A danger to neighbours: The damaged exterior of the same home . By 2010, about 80 per cent of labs . busted by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration were using . shake-and-bake recipes, said Pat Johnakin, a DEA agent specialising in . meth. So instead of a large lab that . supplies many users, there are now more people making meth for their . personal use. The consequences are showing up in emergency rooms and . burns wards. Dr Michael Smock, director of the . burns unit at Mercy Hospital St Louis, said: 'From what we see on the . medical side, that's the primary reason the numbers seem to be going up - . greater numbers of producers making smaller batches.' It is impossible to know precisely . how many people are burned while making shake-and-bake meth. Some avoid . medical treatment, and no one keeps exact track of those who go to the . hospital. But many burns centres in the most . active meth-producing states report sharp spikes in the number of . patients linked to meth. And experts say the trend goes well beyond . those facilities. In Indiana, about three-quarters of . meth busts now involve shake-and-bake. And injuries are rising sharply, . mostly because of burns, said Niki Crawford of the Indiana State Police . Meth Suppression Team. Highly addictive: Known as 'ice', methamphetamine crystals are smoked through a pipe . Indiana had 89 meth-related injuries . during the ten-year period ending in 2009. The state has had 70 in the . last 23 months, mostly from shake-and-bake labs, Ms Crawford said. What's more, meth-related burns often sear some of the body's most sensitive areas - the face and hands. Dr Lucy Wibbenmeyer, of the burns centre at the University of Iowa, said: . 'I don't think a lot of these patients will be able to re-enter . society. They'll need rehab therapy, occupational therapy, which is very . expensive.' Researchers at the University of Iowa . found that people burned while making meth typically have longer . hospital stays and more expensive bills than other burn patients - bills . that are frequently absorbed by the hospital since a vast majority of . the meth-makers lack insurance. Doctors at Bronson Methodist Hospital . in Kalamazoo, Michigan, performed a five-year study of meth patients in . the early 2000s, then a follow-up study in 2009-2010. Their investigation concurred with . the Iowa findings. The Kalamazoo study also found that meth burn victims . were more likely to suffer damage to the lungs and windpipe, spent more . time on ventilators and needed surgery more often. That report also found that only about . 10 per cent of meth patients had private insurance coverage, compared . with 59 percent of other patients. And in many cases, their injuries . leave them unable to work.
is filling hospitals with thousands . of costly that it is contributing to the closure of . some burns units. So-called 'shake-and-bake'