'A whole law unto themselves': Call for legislation on vapes as HSE warns of four with excessive nicotine

A Cork city councillor has said it is time to act on vaping legislation as the HSE has issued an alert to consumers concerning “excessive” nicotine concentrations found in four e-cigarette products.

The product safety alert, issued publicly by the HSE in recent days, includes a warning for the ADADA A8 1200 puff in the Vanilla Coke flavour; The Crystal PRO MAX 4000+ puff, in the Watermelon Ice flavour; the Savage Vape in Kiwi Passion Fruit Guava flavour; and the McKesse MK Bar 7000 12ml in the Lime Mojito flavour.

The service said test results for the four products showed the legal nicotine concentration was exceeded, with sample results ranging between 26.9mg/ml and >30 mg/ml. The legal nicotine concentration for e-cigarettes is 20mg/ml.

As a precautionary measure, the HSE is advising consumers to check the e-cigarettes they may have against the products involved in these alerts.

If consumers have any of these products, they are advised to stop using them and to return them to the shop where they were purchased.

Anyone who has used these products and is experiencing any ill effects should contact their GP for advice and notify the HSE at info.tpd@hse.ie.

Speaking to The Echo, Fianna Fáil councillor for the city’s North West ward, John Sheehan said: “This just goes to show how unregulated they [e-cigarettes] are.

“I think we are only just now seeing the damage that they can do.

“These were originally designed to help people stop smoking, but they’ve become a whole law unto themselves.”

Dr Sheehan, who is also a GP based in a Blackpool surgery, said he would like to see tighter regulations in terms of advertising and selling e-cigarettes.

“It’s about protecting the health of people — if we act now, it could make a huge difference to people’s lives,” he said.

Regional chief environmental health officer at the HSE, Maurice Mulcahy said: “The HSE National Environmental Health Service is increasingly finding non-compliant and unsafe products on the Irish market and will continue to use its extensive legal powers to protect the public up to and including product seizure, product destruction and prosecutions.

“Retailers need to make themselves fully aware of their legal obligations and put in place robust and effective supplier controls.

“We recommend retailers satisfy themselves that the products they sell are legally compliant and have been duly notified to the HSE via the European Common Entry Gate system.”