Public warned to avoid e-cigarettes from two brands after EU health alert
The products, for which European Safety Alerts have been issued, were found to contain nicotine at concentrations up to 30 mg/ml, following analysis by the State Laboratory.
The products involved are: McKesse MK Bar 700, blueberry, blackcurrant mango and blueberry pear flavours; and Bank Box 18000 Puffs, watermelon ice, strawberry watermelon and blueberry ice flavours.
People can return them to the shop where they were bought and retailers have been asked to stop selling them.
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HSE principal environmental health officer Margaret Ruddy said: 'In response to finding non-compliant and unsafe products on the Irish market, the HSE National Environmental Health Service will continue to exercise its full legal powers to protect public health, this includes product seizure, product destruction and prosecutions.
'Retailers should be checking both the products themselves and their suppliers' details before selling them on to consumers.'
Retailers who sold or distributed the products have been told to display a recall notice on their premises or on social media.
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Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
Cause of death of Offaly farmer, who died day after he married, unknown due to embalming
The cause of death of an Offaly farmer who married the day before he died, could not be determined because of embalming of the body, a pathologist told an inquest on Friday. Joseph Grogan of Screggan, Tullamore, on whose land this year's National Ploughing Championships, died on April 15th, 2023 at his home. His widow, Lisa Flaherty told the inquest of how her husband, a 75-year-old man diagnosed with stage four cancer, did not have to be lifted into a car after the marriage ceremony. Ms Flaherty said he had weighed 12 to 13 stone before he became ill but at the time of his death was just seven stone. The validity of the marriage had first been questioned in May when the inquest opened and Damien Tansey, SC, who appeared for relations of Mr Grogan, again asked questions about it when the full hearing began on Friday before Offaly County Coroner, Raymond Mahon. READ MORE A marriage certificate was handed into the court but Mr Tansey indicated that it could be contested in the High Court. There were tense exchanges between Mr Tansey and the coroner, plus the legal representative of Ms Flaherty, Stephen Byrne, BL. Widow of Joe Grogan, Lisa Flaherty, pictured outside the Coroner's Court in Offaly. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw / The Irish Times The inquest is inquiring into the death of Joseph (Joe) Grogan who died after undergoing four cycles of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with stage four Non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the stomach the previous December. The inquest was told by the pathologist who carried out a post mortem, Dr Charles d'Aldhemar, that he could identify no clear cause of the death because his examination was limited by previous embalming of the body. Dr d'Aldhemar said it was extremely unusual to be asked to carry out a post mortem on an embalmed body. Certain tests could not be done because of prior embalming and hence the cause of death was unascertained. The pathologist said embalming a body can prevent and limit toxicology and microbiology tests. Nonetheless he found from an examination of vitreous fluid that Zolidem [used for sleeping problems] and two antihistamines had been present in the body. Dr d'Aldhemar told Mr Tansey that when combined those three drugs could cause respiratory depression but it would depend on the levels and concentration. Coroner Raymond Mahon pictured outside Offaly Coroner's Court. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw / The Irish Times The inquest also heard from Dr Kanthi Perera, oncologist, Tullamore Hospital, that Mr Grogan had been responding well to chemotherapy and was due to be assessed for a further cycle before his death. Dr Perera said she had been surprised when she heard that Mr Grogan had died on April 15th, 2023 10 days after the last session of chemo therapy and said about 60 per cent of patients in his condition could survive for five years with successful further treatment. Sergeant Justine Reilly gave evidence that she learned on the evening of April 15th that Mr Grogan had died and his remains had been brought to Longford for embalming. Two days later she was requested to escort the remains from Mr Grogan's home to the mortuary in Tullamore where an undertaker, Martin Keyes, identified the deceased. Sergeant Reilly said she had been instructed by the coroner to bring the body to the mortuary and the circumstances were unusual. Enta Conroy, an elderly second cousin of the deceased described herself as a lifelong friend of his and visited him regularly at home. When she called on the afternoon of April 14th, she noticed Mr Grogan's condition had deteriorated again. A marriage was not mentioned, said Ms Conroy. She also told of her belief that she had not seen a priest at the house and she brought a crucifix and holy water into Mr Grogan. Ms Conroy said there had been no mention of a doctor in the days before Mr Grogan died. Dr A Ben Kato, a GP with Midoc, the Midlands out-of-hours service, gave evidence of pronouncing Mr Grogan dead after calling to his house and finding no clinical sign of life. He had never met Joseph Grogan before. Dr Kato said he reported the death into the system whereby it would go back to his own GP. He also said he had not given anyone authority to move the body from the house and he would not be able to give an opinion as to the cause of death. Dr Kato also said that another GP, Dr McHale, who was said to be Mr Grogan's GP, did not sign a death certificate because she had not seen the deceased. In a deposition read into the record, Dr Grainne McHale said that while she had taken over Mr Grogan's care from a Dr Scanlon, he had never come to the practice, she never met him and she never prescribed for him. Aidan Dignam, a paramedic, said that when he arrived at Mr Grogan's house and explained that he should go to hospital because he was dying, the man said he would not go back to the hospital because there was nothing they could do for him. In her own evidence, Lisa Flaherty said herself and Joe Grogan had been together for over 16 years having known each other since she was in her teens. Ms Flaherty said that in December 2022 Joe had gone to see Dr Shane Carroll in Banagher, Co Offaly and after bloods were taken he was diagnosed with cancer. They got married on the April 14th after that and the following day Joe did not want to go back to hospital because he wanted to stay at home and didn't want to go in the ambulance. He had everything arranged for his funeral and she was delighted when the undertaker told her that he could be embalmed and brought back home that night because he had said he did not want to be left on a slab anywhere. Ms Flaherty said that being brought away to a mortuary was 'the one thing he didn't want'. Under cross-examination by Mr Tansey, Ms Flaherty said she had been romantically linked with Mr Grogan but also agreed that she had a partner, Seamus Meacle, for a number of years. Ms Flaherty disputed evidence from Ms Conroy that a priest had not been to the house, saying that the local priest, Fr Michael Whittaker, had been in to see Mr Grogan daily before his death. Ms Flaherty, a special needs assistant in a school, said she had three children but none of them were Joe's. Ms Flaherty also denied that she had attempted to restrict visitors to Mr Grogan but said a 'no visitors' sign was put on the door around the time of chemo because of the threat of infection. On the day of his death she first contacted the oncology department and was advised to ring an ambulance. Her sister, Niamh Higgins, a psychiatric nurse, was present and she contacted Midoc. When Mr Tansey asked Ms Flaherty if it was fair to say the relationship between herself and Joe had never been consummated, Mr Byrne intervened and said in 35 years of practice he had never heard such a scandalous question being asked. The coroner ruled that he would not allow Mr Tansey's question. When she was cross examined by Mr Tansey again about her marriage when Mr Grogan was so ill she said that Joe had been transported to the registry office by car. She was certain he did not have to be lifted into a car when they came out of the registry office. Ms Flaherty was the final witness and Mr Mahon said the inquest will resume on Tuesday, July 15th.
Irish Times
9 hours ago
- Irish Times
Peak hay fever season: How to protect yourself amid rising pollen
We are in the depths of hay fever season , which typically runs from January and September. Across the country, pollen counts are rising, noses are running and eyes are watering. One in five people people in Ireland suffers from hay fever, according to the Asthma Society of Ireland. Even if you have never had it before, you are not immune from the itchy eyes, frequent sneezing and headaches that high pollen levels can bring. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, which tracks atmospheric changes for the European Union, has reported that pollen levels were so high across Europe this spring, that even those who never suffered from allergies before have felt the effects this year. READ MORE Dr David O'Connor, assistant professor at the school of chemical sciences in Dublin City University, says climate change has a role to play. [ Sufferers face more severe symptoms due to agricultural fertilisers Opens in new window ] When temperatures rise, plants start to grow earlier, meaning they release pollen earlier in the year than usual, increasing our likelihood of being exposed to it. Poorer air quality has an impact too, especially in urban areas. 'Pollen and air quality are kind of interlinked,' he said. This can exacerbate pollen's effects, making our allergy symptoms worse. Dr O'Connor notes that, although 'your personal threshold' for pollen may never have been exceeded in the past, increasing pollen levels mean you may begin to experience hay fever symptoms. Whether you are experiencing symptoms for the first time, or consider yourself a hay fever veteran, here are some tips to help you cope this summer. Plan ahead Met Éireann delivers a daily pollen forecast service on its website, which projects pollen levels for the next three days. On days when pollen levels are high, Dr O'Connor advises people to take an antihistamine before they go to bed, so they are prepared for the pollen levels the next day. Barriers, barriers, barriers Similar to how you would protect yourself from the sun, you can implement barriers to protect yourself from pollen too. Dr Simon Bull of Allergy Ireland notes that wraparound sunglasses 'literally will block out the pollen and stop your eyes from itching'. This is important, as itching your eyes can cause more pollen to enter your system from your fingers. The HSE advises that putting Vaseline around your nostrils can help trap pollen from entering your nose. If you want to block it even further, 'masks do a fantastic job of stopping pollen from getting into your nose or mouth', Dr O'Connor notes. Keep your home pollen free After spending a day outside during peak hay fever season, you can be 'literally coated in pollen', Dr Bull says. When you return home, take a shower and change your clothes. When washing those clothes, it is best to avoid drying them outside, as pollen will only fall on them again. Dr O'Connor advises that, if you are feeling hay fever symptoms badly, you should try to dry your clothes in a dryer. When the pollen count is high, keep the windows and doors of your home closed, especially your bedroom. Dr Bull notes that when pollen enters a bedroom, it can fall on bedsheets and pillow cases, meaning you can be 'directly inhaling it' as you sleep. As lovely as they may be, if you suffer from hay fever symptoms, try to avoid keeping fresh flowers in the house. Try some over-the-counter medications Dr Bull recommends trying a non-sedating antihistamine as the most basic measure to treat your symptoms. Gentle steroid nasal sprays can provide relief from a runny nose, congestion and sneezing. Eye drops can help soothe itching, redness and eye watering triggered by pollen. If you're really struggling, there are long-term solutions If over-the-counter measures are not cutting it, there are long-term measures available for patients with aggressive hay fever. Dr Bull notes that a desensitisation treatment can be prescribed by GPs, which involves taking a small dose of pollen in tablet form for three years to build up a tolerance. 'It's relatively expensive', he says, but is on the drug payment scheme which caps spending on approved drugs and medicines at a maximum of €80 per month.
Irish Independent
9 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Three companies paid €71m to reduce hospital waiting lists – one of which received more than €54m, HSE figures reveal
One of the companies was paid in the region €54.6m, according to the figures provided to the Oireachtas health committee. The other two were each paid €10m and over €5m. The figures supplied to the committee come after HSE chief Bernard Gloster said earlier this week it was planned to phase out of the use of these companies over the next year. They are hired by hospitals and the wider health service to help reduce waiting list backlogs. He told the health committee that a trawl carried out by the HSE covering 27 months found around €100m in total was paid out to these companies during that time employing the external companies to carry out waiting list work using public facilities in the evenings and weekends. The HSE review – which followed recent controversies – also shows that 83 directors of these companies are current or previous employees of the HSE. Some 23 are current employees – working in the HSE while also serving as directors of companies hired by hospitals to reduce backlogs of waiting list patients. He told the committee earlier this week he planned to phase out this form of insourcing in public hospitals by the end of June this year and it was not possible to do it immediately. These companies have grown in 'level and scale. We took our eye off the ball. We need to unwind it,' he told the committee. He add that the 'only way to change it is to stop it.' The winding down must be done 'sensibly', he added. He pointed out there is nothing unlawful about being a company director and there are obligations under the Standards in Public Office or employment contract terms. The review had found an over-reliance on these external companies – several of which had links to hospitals. He said the plan is to introduce more safeguards around them and he is to work with Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill on strengthening these. The review examined 148 companies which had 365 directors in total and found 93 matches with current or previous HSE employees. The implications for removing these companies from carrying out the work is that there is potential for having to use more private hospitals to treat public patients. The aim is to increase productivity through routine work.
