HSE issues stark warning over three vapes that falsely claim to be nicotine-free
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info
The HSE has issued a warning to vape users over three e-cigarettes that wrongly claim not to contain nicotine.
E-cigarette smokers have been urged to stop using the products due to the false labelling. The products, for which European product safety (RAPEX) alerts have been issued, contain nicotine at concentrations of 18.0 mg/ml to 19.0 mg/ml following analysis by the State Laboratory.
The implicated products are:
The Crystal Bling 6000+ puffs - Sub-brand (flavour): 5G HRTP Blue Razz Lemonade, Batch No. THE240801
McKesse MK Bar 7000 - Sub-brand (flavour): Passionfruit & Lime
JNR Crystal Pro Max 5000+ puff - 0% nicotine Sub-brands (flavours): Kiwi Watermelon Ice Batch No. C24H8399-CP5000
(Image: HSE)
A notice on the HSE website reads: "People can return them to the shop where they were bought and retailers have been asked to stop selling them. HSE National Environmental Health Service is appealing to people selling e-cigarettes and vapes to ask their supplier where the products they are selling are coming from and are they legal."
Dr Maurice Mulcahy, Regional Chief Environmental Health Officer, HSE said: 'The National Environmental Health Service is regularly finding non-compliant products on the Irish market. These 3 most recent alerts are for products labelled as containing 'no nicotine' but following laboratory analysis by the State Laboratory we found that they have concentrations as high as 19.0 mg/ml.
(Image: HSE)
"While this may be below the legal permitted limit of 20 mg/ml, it is not what the consumer has been told they contain. In addition, these products were found to have 7.7ml to 9.4ml of nicotine-containing liquid, almost 4 to 5 times the permitted volume (2ml).
'The HSE National Environmental Health Service, in response to finding non-compliant and unsafe products on the Irish market, will continue to use its legal powers to protect the public up to and including product seizure, product destruction and prosecutions."
Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice .
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Extra.ie
2 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Teen cancer patient among those 'harmed by NTPF abuse'
The lives of seriously ill patients – including a teenager with cancer – were put at unnecessary risk due to alleged abuses of the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF), a whistleblower has claimed in a protected disclosure. They also accuse Health Service Executive (HSE) chief Bernard Gloster of failing to fully investigate serious allegations of NTPF abuses highlighted in a series of emails sent to management between 2022 and 2023. This comes as a Cabinet source who has read the unpublished Children's Health Ireland (CHI) report says any informed reader of it would immediately fear the spectre of widespread abuse of the NPTF system, saying: 'If it could happen in that list, how do we know it didn't happen in other parts of the health service?' In the protected disclosure to the HSE whistleblower detailed a series of alleged 'wrongdoings' arising out of the replacement of existing scanning services to public patients at a hospital with a significantly more expensive NTPF service. Health Service Executive (HSE) chief Bernard Gloster. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos They also provided details of a list given to the head of the health service of dozens of patients whose diagnosis and treatment were allegedly delayed so work could be done instead by consultants paid through the more lucrative NTPF scheme. Some of these include children suffering from life-threatening illnesses. The whistleblower this weekend claimed the 'problem has not been resolved and is still happening to this day', forcing patients 'with suspected cancer to go privately to get their scans done promptly'. Despite the serious nature of the allegations, the whistleblower said a series of emails sent between 2022-2023 to Mr Gloster and other HSE bosses received 'no meaningful response'. The latest revelations come as it emerged on Thursday that the damning internal report on the use of public funding for waiting lists at a children's hospital has been referred to the gardaí by the HSE. In a recent RTÉ interview, Mr Gloster vowed to report any misuse of public funds to gardaí. Asked if Mr Gloster reported the concerns of the HSE whistleblower to gardaí, a ,spokeswoman said: 'The CEO office receives a high volume of correspondence all of which is appropriately referred for appropriate attention to relevant parts of the organisation.' In their protected disclosure, the whistleblower claims: HSE management failed to investigate why dozens of patients had their diagnosis and treatment delayed because the processing of scans at a public hospital was diverted to the NTPF scheme n Despite receiving a detailed list of these patients, Mr Gloster merely passed on the infordone promptly'. Despite the serious nature of the allegations, the whistleblower said a series of emails sent between 2022-2023 to Mr Gloster and other HSE bosses received 'no meaningful response'. The latest revelations come as it emerged on Thursday that the damning internal report on the use of public funding for waiting lists at a children's hospital has been referred to the gardaí by the HSE. In a recent RTÉ interview, Mr Gloster vowed to report any misuse of public funds to gardaí. Asked if Mr Gloster reported the concerns of the HSE whistleblower to gardaí, a HSE spokeswoman said: 'The CEO office receives a high volume of correspondence all of which is appropriately referred for appropriate attention to relevant parts of the organisation.' In their protected disclosure, the whistleblower claims: HSE management failed to investigate why dozens of patients had their diagnosis and treatment delayed because the processing of scans at a public hospital was diverted to the NTPF scheme. Despite receiving a detailed list of these patients, Mr Gloster merely passed on the information to another HSE official, and that 'no feedback' was received and 'no solution' was proposed. Hospital management 'actively blocked' HSE staff from using rooms and equipment, which resulted in 'artificially' created waiting lists which were then referred to a more expensive NTPF-funded service. Some consultants employed under the NTPF are working simultaneously at multiple hospitals by allegedly subcontracting work out to other medics. Hospitals are powerless to hold some consultants working under the NTPF accountable for errors because they are not members of staff, but are instead paid through a network of corporate entities or sole trader firms. The standard of some work done under the NTPF is so poor it has resulted in patients being unnecessarily subjected to tests and invasive biopsies Some consultants are blocking colleagues from treating public patients so that they can profit from the human misery of people on lengthy waiting lists. The whistleblower described how a more expensive NTPF system was introduced at a public hospital to replace a 'normal scanning process' that had successfully worked through waiting lists. They told : 'Prior to the NTPF, patients were scanned depending on their need and there was no waiting list. But when the NTPF was introduced, patients had no option but to either wait and go on the NTPF list or else go elsewhere for their scans. 'Either way, there was a delay in their treatment,' they said. 'The people who went to get scans done privately suffered further delays because their images were not made available on the hospital system, so they had either to wait to be rescanned through the NTPF process or go elsewhere for their treatment. 'One of those affected by the delays in treatment was a teenager with cancer.' The latest damning allegations emerged as the NTPF this week suspended funding to the CHI group pending the outcome of inquiries into issues raised in an internal report, which was originally drawn up in 2021 but never published or circulated to senior figures elsewhere in the health service. Pic: Getty Images These include payments made to a consultant to treat patients at a weekend clinic in a public hospital. The consultant was reportedly already earning in the region of €250,000 a year but was not available to work 'on call' for health reasons. However, he was still paid €35,800 extra under the NTPF to treat patients at the weekend clinic. According to an unpublished internal CHI report, the consultant breached both HSE and NTPF rules. It is alleged that he failed to check if any of his colleagues could see his patients who were left languishing on waiting lists. As a result, some patients were able to jump ahead of those with more urgent health needs, while others were selected ahead of those waiting longer for care. The consultant has since retired, and it is unclear if any disciplinary action was taken against him. Health Minister Jennifer Carroll McNeill has ordered Mr Gloster to carry out a full audit of the governance and practices of CHI. The HSE yesterday said 'the audit terms and plan are being finalised in the coming days'. While the CHI has been the focus of recent coverage about alleged NTPF abuses, the whistleblower's warnings to HSE management as far back as three years ago indicates the problem extends beyond a single consultant working at a children's hospital. A minister last night expressed fears there could be more widespread abuses of the NTPF. They told 'Rarely are these things confined to one waiting list. I have the benefit of having read the [internal Children's Health Ireland] report that's not yet published, into the urology stuff, but, a lot of it's out there. 'It's bad, right, to put it mildly, but, but anybody who reads, this will think: 'Hang on a second – if it could happen in that list, how do we know it didn't happen in other parts of the health service?' Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos 'And, of course, the Department of Health is endeavouring to discover how widespread the practice is.' The Cabinet source added: 'In fairness to the NTPF they have very strong rules around what it can and can't be used for. But the questions are: were those rules followed in hospitals, and secondly, did the NTPF do their job at making sure the rules are applied? And I don't know the answer to those questions, though it sounds like the protected disclosure your organisation has seen may give very concerning answers to those questions. 'I repeat, it's rarely ever confined to one doctor or one list.' The NTPF will receive about €230m from the exchequer this year to buy treatment in both the public and private systems for patients on waiting lists. Around €70m a year is also allocated to hospitals to pay staff overtime to work their way through waiting lists in schemes known as 'blitzes' by healthcare professionals. The NTPF declined to comment on the whistleblower's allegations that the taxpayer-funded scheme is being abused at a public hospital. In response to queries, a HSE spokesperson said: 'On the wider issue of waiting list-funded initiatives, the CEO initiated and subsequently published a 2023 and 2024 internal audit on a range of these matters, indicative of his concern regarding the fine balance between privately-funded initiatives to reduce waiting lists and the need for probity. 'He has commenced a nationwide survey and review of insourcing, a methodology used in such initiatives, and has taken certain precautionary steps in the interim to further reduce the risks of conflicts of interest and other concerns that might arise. This remains a work in progress.'
The Journal
2 hours ago
- The Journal
Results of cancer prevention initiative to be presented to EU Parliament
A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND CANCER prevention initiative promoting physical activity outdoors in green spaces is to present its results to the EU Parliament in Brussels. The Urban Action Against Cancer (UcanACT) pilot project in Kilkenny saw 62 adults aged 50 and over take part in physiotherapist-led exercise programmes across three parks last year. It was part of a three-city pilot also held in Bologna in Italy, and Munich in Germany, which aims to provide community-based outdoor exercise programmes led by experts as a preventative and cancer support tool for over-50s. The Irish men and women taking part included people living with cancer, cancer survivors and individuals without a diagnosis. The results of the pilot will be presented by Kilkenny County Council, the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists and the EU partners to the EU Parliament on Wednesday for assessment for wider rollout. The project will also be showcased as part of Your Council Day on June 27, which celebrates the services and work carried out by Ireland's county and city councils. Patrick Griffin, a Kilkenny-based prostate cancer survivor, who took part in the pilot said: 'An exercise regime was suggested to me because decreased energy is a common side-effect following radiation therapy. 'I always walked for fitness and never had an interest in gyms, but my wife had mentioned that I was slouching on our walks together,' the 78-year-old said. Advertisement 'I noticed many benefits as a result of the programme: my posture is better and my overall energy and concentration are stronger. 'The team were so well organised. They were genuinely watching out for each individual, adjusting exercises where needed, which is of massive benefit.' Over three years, Kilkenny County Council led the local implementation of UcanACT, working alongside the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists (ISCP) and EU partners. The project aimed to create a safe space where people could exercise at their own pace, tailored to their abilities, participants reported feeling encouraged and supported. Janette Boran, Healthy Kilkenny co-ordinator at the county council, said participants saw significant benefits. 'Through focus groups, participants shared their positive experiences, highlighting key benefits such as improved fitness, better balance and strength, improved sleep quality, stronger social connections and reduced anxiety,' she said. 'The results of this study also reported that participants had significant reduction in fatigue and improvement in quality-of-life scores. 'Many also mentioned how exercising outdoors was important for their mental wellbeing. 'The programme has received strong support from the participants, and many who took part reported that they were surprised at what they were able to achieve with the guidance of a physiotherapist. 'The sessions were individualised within a group setting, so the full group met together but the activity was very tailored to accommodate the varied needs of the participants.'
Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
New Covid strain causes 'unusual' symptoms as Irish told to stay home if unwell
With a rise in Covid cases once again making headlines around the world, Irish health officials are urging the public to stay at home if they're feeling unwell. A new variant, known as NB.1.8.1, has now been detected in Ireland. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the strain first emerged in January and by late April was responsible for approximately 10.7% of global infections, up from just 2.5% a month earlier. The WHO recently added NB.1.8.1 to its official watch list, noting that while the variant may be more transmissible than previous strains, there is no evidence it causes more severe symptoms or illness. The strain has seen a rapid rise in Ireland in recent weeks. According to data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), the proportion of sequenced Covid samples linked to NB.1.8.1 jumped from 3.7% to 27.3% in the last five weeks. The variant has already become dominant in parts of Asia, including China and Hong Kong, and has also been confirmed in the UK, US, Australia and popular holiday hotspots such as Thailand, Egypt and the Maldives. Doctors are seeing a shift in the symptom profile compared to earlier variants. While previous strains largely caused cold and flu like symptoms, this new variant has been linked to gastrointestinal issues in some patients - which can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, bloating, constipation, abdominal pain and even heartburn. Dr Lara Herrero, Associate Professor and Virology Research Leader at Griffith University, explained: "Common symptoms [of NB.1.8.1] include sore throat, fatigue, fever, mild cough, muscle aches and nasal congestion. Gastrointestinal symptoms may also occur in some cases." Irish people who find themselves unwell with unseasonal cold symptoms or gastrointestinal issues may actually have Covid, according to the HSE. Ireland's public health guidelines remain the same: If you have any symptoms of Covid, stay at home until 48 hours after the symptoms are mostly or fully gone. You should also avoid contact with other people, especially people at higher risk from Covid. The HSE is reminding the public of the wide range of Covid symptoms to look out for. These include:
