Cork pain relief centre cited for misleading advert due to having unqualified doctor
Haven Pain Relief Centre is a chiropractic centre in Douglas and the credentials of the principal person in charge of the centre says he is a 'chiropractic doctor' which is not a medical doctor.
A complaint to the ASA noted that Haven Pain Relief Centre's website contained statements such as 'Haven Integrative Pain Relief Centre in Douglas, Cork, is Ireland's leading Multidisciplinary Pain Relief and Wellness Care Centre' as well as 'Pain Management Consultants" and "Pain Specialist Doctor Cork'.
The complainant considered the advertisement misleading as the service advertisement included various references to 'doctor' together with 'pain management consultants' and 'pain specialist doctor'.
'The complainant also stated that, based on the information provided, they considered it reasonable for a member of the public to believe that the services were being provided by a medical doctor,' the ASA said.
'However, none of the credentials listed for the medical professional featured in the advertisement appeared to be those that qualify a person to practice medicine in Ireland.'
In Ireland, chiropractors are not medical doctors and cannot prescribe medication. The website of the representative body Chiropractic Association of Ireland also states that there is 'no legislation' governing or regulating chiropractors in Ireland and this means 'anyone may call themselves a chiropractor'.
Other reported advertisements
This was just one case out of nine detailed by the ASA of which eight were upheld in full and one was upheld in part. Advertisements across online, social media and radio were found to be in breach of the ASA code on grounds related to principles, recognisability and misleading advertising.
There were six complaints received by the ASA relating to advertisements run by Dublin and Cork airport operator daa. A complaint against a daa newspaper advertisement was not upheld but five complaints about the radio advertisement were upheld.
The radio advertisement featured the statement stating 'by halving airport emissions by 2030, we think we can lift everyone's future hopes even higher'.
'Five complainants felt the radio ad was misleading by implying that all airport-related emissions (including flights) would be halved by 2030, whereas the actual claim only referred to direct airport emission,' the ASA said.
A complaint was upheld against Eir over a sponsored post on Facebook which claimed that customers would receive a new Chromebook Go, worth €329, if they bought a Samsung Galaxy S24 on Eir 'for just €99'.
The complainant believed the advertisement was misleading as one had to enter a contract with Eir to avail of the offer which was not stated in the advertisement.
Second-hand retailer Luxury Exchange received a complaint for stating that it had free deliveries throughout Ireland but still charged a fee to the complainant. This was deemed misleading by the ASA.
A number of complaints were upheld against advertisements carried on the Instagram account Twins and Me which distributed ads for a number of companies. The advertisers included Ella and Jo, Voduz Hair, Dylan Oaks, as well as Image A.D.S.
The complaints were due to ads not being marked correctly as commercial content, not including hashtags before AD to properly denote an advertisement, or not fully disclosing affiliate links.
A complaint against the account itself was also upheld for not stating the link to a product was an affiliate link and the 'influencer had included 'AF' in small writing which was obscured by the influencer's profile picture'.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sunday World
2 days ago
- Sunday World
Women using cocaine as ‘low fat alternative' to alcohol sees sharp rise in drug use
'loophole' | 'There's a lot more stigma and shame for women entering treatment' . According to the Rutland Centre rehab clinic's 2024 annual report, a 'growing national crisis' has evolved through the use of cocaine in this country. While children are storing cocaine in their school lockers, the centre's head of clinical services, Emma Kavanagh, described how young women feel like cocaine will not impede their weight-loss journeys or progress in the gym. 'If they were to use alcohol, it would negatively affect those things,' she also told 'So, cocaine is nearly kind of a loophole to get a buzz without having to ingest additional calories.' . News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, July 29 Cocaine accounted for 23 pre cent of all admissions last year to the private rehab clinic, the new figures reveal. This is up from 17 per cent in 2023 and is 'one of the sharpest single-year increases the Rutland Centre has recorded for any substance', the Dublin-based centre warned. Rutland CEO Meave Mullany told RTÉ Radio how women traditionally face more barriers to entering treatment than men. 'There's a lot more stigma and shame for women entering treatment,' she said. 'There's a lot more considerations around childcare, around family life, so they tend not to come forward for treatment as frequently or as often as men do. Ms Mullany said according to people coming in for treatment cocaine is 'literally everywhere'. 'It's in the lockers, it's in school, it's after sport,' she said. 'We even hear from clients coming into treatment that there's an app that people can use to order it by drones,' she remarked. In response to this crisis, the centre has announced plans to open a dedicated inpatient detox unit later this year. Read more More than 200 people received intensive treatment through Rutland's residential and outpatient programmes in 2024, as staff answered more than 16,800 calls and facilitated over 11,000 aftercare attendances. According to the Health Research Board's latest drug treatment figures, cocaine is now the most common problem drug among new treatment cases, accounting for over 30% of all new presentations, and overtaking cannabis for the first time. Men made up two-thirds (66 per cent) of those treated at the Rutland Centre in 2024, with women accounting for 34 per cent. The age group with the most people seeking help was those aged 25 to 44, who represent more than half of all clients. 'These figures highlight the age and gender realities of addiction in Ireland today, with younger adults and men continuing to face particularly acute risks,' the facility said in a statement. The Rutland report also revealed that 94 per cent of residential clients completed the full treatment programme, while 89per cent of those who moved into aftercare remained in active recovery. Many former clients attribute Rutland their life-changing recovery to the Rutland with one former client, Chris, saying that when he arrived four years ago, he was 'completely broken'. 'The 35 days in the house was the hardest of my life. I finally had to face me. 'Now I look back and recovery hasn't just been about sobriety, it's about growing up and reconnecting with the people I love.' He added: 'Halfway through, I wanted to leave, I wanted to run – but that same night something clicked, no one else was going to do this for me. I needed to show up for myself. What's happened since still blows my mind.'
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
When you're in perimenopause and have a newborn baby at the same time
After Dublin mother of one Lorraine Heffernan had her daughter, Ava, now three, at the age of 45, she didn't think about perimenopause. 'I thought there's no way I could be menopausal,' Lorraine says. 'I've just had a baby. That's years down the line.' Yet, by the time Ava was two, Lorraine's hormones were 'all over the place', though she was out of the new-baby phase. Her mood was not as good as it should have been. 'I wasn't feeling as energetic or upbeat as I normally would. Ava has been a great sleeper since very young, so why was I feeling more tired than usual when I was sleeping well?' Through research, conversations with friends, and the launch of a menopause policy in her Dublin City University workplace, the Stepaside-based mother realised she was most likely in perimenopause. Lorraine Heffernan: "I thought there's no way I could be menopausal, I've just had a baby, that's years down the line." Picture: Gareth Chaney Lorraine came forward for interview for this feature after menopause workplace consultant Catherine O'Keeffe put out a call on her network for women prepared to talk about being in perimenopause soon after having a baby. Within days, 20 women had responded. 'It's a big challenge for a lot of women,' says O'Keeffe. 'Starting a family is happening later. And a lot of women are starting to feel perimenopausal before the average age of 45.' Catherine O'Keeffe of the Menopause Summit Fiona Buckley, 44, a Dublin-based empowerment coach and keynote speaker, began having what she now knows were perimenopausal symptoms about a year after having her daughter, Sadie, seven. She attributed the tiredness and brain fog to the postpartum phase. But the symptoms never went away. 'My GP and friends who'd had babies said 12 months postpartum these should be going away, but they weren't. They were only getting compounded, new ones being added on. That's how I knew.' Fiona Buckley began having what she now knows were perimenopausal symptoms about a year after having her daughter, Sadie, seven. She attributed the tiredness and brain fog to the postpartum phase. But the symptoms never went away. Initial misdiagnosis Emily Collins who got her first symptom of menopause at the age of 36 when her second daughter was six months old. Picture: Moya Nolan Emily Collins, mother to Ava, seven, and Niamh, five, was 36 when she attended the GP with her first symptom, six months after giving birth. Her usual GP was away and the male replacement attributed what she was experiencing to thrush. 'We never thought it was menopause, because I had a six-month-old. I was treated for thrush — it went on for nine months.' 'Between life, lockdown at the time, and children, I just ignored it. My second symptom came in summer 2021, just after I'd had the covid vaccine: Very heavy periods. I'd heard that the vaccine could cause changes to the menstrual cycle.' But by October, sweat dripping off her as she packed to go home to Wicklow after a visit to her parents' house in Clare, realisation dawned for Emily. 'My cousin, 10 years older than me, is a big menopause advocate. She'd just started her menopause journey and was very vocal about symptoms. I began to put two and two together: Maybe there's another reason I'm sweating and anxious, have heavy periods, and extreme tiredness. Maybe it's not just having a newborn.' Discovering that her mother had been 'in the throes' of menopause at 43, Emily says: 'But when did her first symptom start?' A visit to her own GP brought some relief. 'She sent me for blood tests. They were normal, but because of my symptoms she wasn't convinced I wasn't in menopause.' A stint on the Mirena coil didn't help. An oestrogen patch brought a better result. 'Within three weeks, I wasn't sweating to the same level. I wasn't anxious or tired and it just got progressively better.' Confusing symptoms At her Ashe St Clinic in Tralee, Dr Karen Soffe, GP with an interest in women's health and specialist with the British Menopause Society, has seen women who were in perimenopause soon after they had a baby. A few issues are at play. 'Women are having babies later and, therefore, the gap between their postnatal period and the start of perimenopause can overlap, making it difficult for women to realise what's going on.' In addition, some of the symptoms — fatigue, low mood, lack of sleep, and brain fog — can be put down to 'baby blues' or 'baby brain' and be misdiagnosed. Deciding whether 'this is post-natal depression, perimenopause, or just having a new baby can be a very big challenge', says Lorraine. 'I don't know if you'd know where one starts and the other finishes.' Recalling her return to work when Ava was seven months, she says: 'Going into a room, I'd be saying, 'What have I come in here for? I can't remember'. Remembering people's names, the title of something, my mind would go blank. And I'd be thinking, 'Is it baby brain or brain fog?' Now I'm realising it was a bit of both. 'Any mum will be anxious with a new baby: You're on high alert. Anxiety symptoms are heightened in perimenopause: Waking up in the middle of the night, your mind racing, finding it hard to go to sleep. If you're irritable or snappy, is it because you've a very active, strong-willed, fabulous little girl who's trying and testing you, or is it because your hormones are acting erratically?' Recalling the succession of symptoms, Fiona says: 'One minute, you're trying for a baby, then you've had the baby, and then you have all these symptoms coming at you in force. First, I thought it was part of being a new mom, just motherhood. I didn't put it down to perimenopause.' Whether 'it's my body settling down after having a baby, or I've gone full throttle into menopause' is a cloudy area, says O'Keeffe. 'If you are in perimenopause, unless you have a good doctor you'll probably spend a while thinking 'Am I going mad?'' Emily feels fortunate her doctor listened to her. 'She didn't say, 'Look, the bloods indicate there's nothing going on'.' But Fiona says women don't always respond optimally to other women who are wondering if, post-birth, they're in perimenopause. 'A lot shut me down. They said, 'Oh, you're not, you're just tired after having a baby'. Women can do that to each other, fob each other off. It made me question myself a lot.' As a woman in her mid-40s having her first baby, Lorraine feels that more health-service awareness of her life stage would have helped. 'Nobody said, 'You're at a certain age now, perimenopause might be kicking in'. Nothing like that was ever mentioned, not even at the check-ups. The community health nurse would ask 'How are you feeling, how's your mood?' There was no mention of perimenopause. I think it's another piece of information to make women aware of.' Two times of life colliding Unsurprisingly, perimenopause can make new motherhood even more challenging than it already is. One symptom that Emily says really upset her, prior to getting good treatment, was the anger she would sometimes feel: 'The girls were two and four when I was going through that, and something as simple as them taking a while to put on their shoes going out, I'd get cross about, and there was no need to get cross like that. I think it impacted the relationship I had with them. And it was because I wasn't myself.' Lorraine says being a mother and having perimenopause is two conflicting elements in one. 'You're striving to be the best mom you can be. You don't want to be reacting in certain ways. You want to have a certain tolerance threshold, regardless of what timeframe your body clock is working to.' Fiona took a while to accept that perimenopause came so soon after her baby. 'It feels like you have two stages of life overlapping. You're trying to enjoy your baby and you're hit with a complete other stage of life. It feels like you've been fast-forwarded and you're trying to slow it down.' Soffe says that perimenopause, at the best of times, coincides with a stressful phase of most women's lives, what with elderly parents, career pressures, teenagers, and financial worries. 'Perimenopause can make women struggle with mood, anxiety, multi-tasking, or juggling all the things they previously managed with ease. Adding a new baby or toddler in to the mix can be overwhelming.'
The Journal
2 days ago
- The Journal
Why have there been so many food recalls over listeria?
THE FOOD SAFETY Authority has recalled almost 150 food items since last week due to the possible presence of harmful bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria is a pathogenic bacteria which can cause the listeriosis disease. Last week, one person in Ireland died as a result of listeriosis, while as of last Tuesday, nine people were confirmed to have the infection. Yesterday, seven different spinach and mixed leaves products produced by McCormack Family Farms were recalled due to the detection of listeria monocytogenes, with two more spinach products affected by another recall today. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) had released a statement earlier today to say there are no cases of listeriosis associated with the spinach and mixed leaves products that are the subject of this recall. It said there is currently no evidence that this food recall is linked with the separate listeriosis outbreak, which first emerged last week and is related to ready-to-heat meals. The food safety watchdog acknowledged consumers may be anxious at the news of a second series of recalls involving Listeria monocytogenes. It said: 'While we urge people to be aware of the risks, and to take precautions when using ready-to-eat foods, they can be assured that there is a robust food control system in place in Ireland, which contributed to the identification of the latest need for a recall.' What has been recalled? 142 different ready-made meals and side dishes sold in major supermarkets across Ireland, which are made and distributed by Dublin-based Ballymaguire Foods , were recalled last week due to the possible presence of the bacteria. Seven different spinach and mixed leaves products produced by McCormack Family Farms were recalled yesterday due to the detection of listeria monocytogenes, with two more batches recalled today. The full list of the dates of the affected products is available on the FSAI website . Recall notices will be displayed at point-of-sale in stores. Supermarkets impacted by the recalls include Tesco, Supervalu, Centra and Aldi. Advertisement What are Listeria monocytogenes and listeriosis? Listeriosis is an infection caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. The pathogenic bacteria, according to the FSAI, can cause diarrhoea, fever, headache and muscle pain. Consumption of contaminated food and feed is the main route of infection by Listeria in humans and animals, although human infection can also result from contact with infected animals. The Listeria bacteria that can cause illness is killed by cooking food thoroughly. The FSAI said there are between 14 and 22 cases of listeriosis reported in Ireland each year. In rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications. Some people are more vulnerable to Listeria monocytogenes infections, including pregnant women, babies, and people with weakened immune systems, including the elderly. These individuals are advised to avoid higher risk foods and ensure that they cook ready-to-heat meals thoroughly until piping hot, and in line with manufacturer's instructions. What should I do if I've come into contact with a recalled food? If you have eaten any recalled foods and you feel unwell, seek medical advice. If you feel well, you don't need to do anything. The incubation period (time between initial infection and first symptoms appearing) is three weeks on average, but can range between three and 70 days. Consumers are advised not to eat recalled products. The FSAI has advised consumers to dispose of them, or return them to the store where they purchased them, as directed by the retailer. Retailers are requested to remove the implicated products from sale and display recall notices at the point-of-sale. Wholesalers and distributors are requested to contact their affected customers and recall the implicated products and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their retailer customers. Caterers should not use the implicated products. Measures to reduce the risk of listeriosis: Always wash your hands before and after preparing food, and before eating Cook food thoroughly, especially meat and meat products, chicken and vegetables, and pre-prepared, ready-to-heat meals, ensuring that they are cooked through to the middle and piping hot (food that requires cooking should reach 75 degrees Celsius for at least 30 seconds) Wash salads, fruit and raw vegetables thoroughly before eating, or peel if appropriate Keep uncooked meats separate from vegetables and from cooked and ready-to-eat foods Wash hands, knives, and cutting boards after contact with uncooked food Make sure that your refrigerator is working correctly (it should be kept between 0 degrees Celsius and 5 degrees Celsius) When heating food in a microwave, ensure you follow heating and standing times recommended by the manufacturer Keep foods for as short a time as possible and follow storage instructions, including 'use by' dates Throw away left-over reheated food. Cooked food which is not eaten immediately should be cooled as rapidly as possible and then stored in the refrigerator Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... Our Explainer articles bring context and explanations in plain language to help make sense of complex issues. We're asking readers like you to support us so we can continue to provide helpful context to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. Learn More Support The Journal
