HSE warns people to stop using three e-cigarette products containing nicotine but labelled as having no nicotine

The HSE National Environmental Health Service (NEHS) is alerting the public to stop using three different e-cigarette products as they are labelled wrongly as containing ‘no nicotine’ when they do in fact contain nicotine.

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 products involved 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

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.  We are calling for much greater vigilance by retailers and importers of e-cigarettes with regard to the safety, quality packaging and labelling of such products in order to protect consumers from potential harm.

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.  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.

“However, retailers play an important role in protecting the consumers of such products from potential harm and should be checking both the products themselves and their suppliers’ details before selling them on to consumers. Otherwise, they may not only be putting the consumer at risk, they may be breaking the law and making it more difficult to trace and seek the recall and withdrawal of dangerous batches of such products.”

Retailers

The message to retailers is:

• If you have any of the products in these alerts, you must remove them from sale and contact the HSE at info.tpd@hse.ie providing product and full traceability details.
• If you have sold or distributed any of the products above, a recall notice must be displayed in a prominent position in your retail premises and on your website and social media.
• Retailers with any queries in relation to this matter can contact the HSE at  info.tpd@hse.ie.
• More information on the products can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/safety-gate-alerts/ using the words ‘electronic cigarette’.

Consumers

As a precautionary measure, the HSE is advising consumers to check the electronic cigarettes they may have, against the products involved in these alerts. If they have any of these products, they should stop using them and return them to the shop where they were purchased. If they have used these products and experienced any ill effects, they should contact their General Practitioner for advice and notify the HSE at info.tpd@hse.ie.

Distributors and Importers

The HSE has contacted distributors and importers of e-cigarettes and refill containers known to the HSE and made them aware of this issue and will be following up as required.

Dr Mulcahy added: “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 (EU CEG). Furthermore, if retailers also bring nicotine inhaling products into Ireland from another country that is outside the European Union, such the UK, they may by virtue of this fact also be considered an importer. Being an importer places additional legal obligations requiring notification of these imported products to the HSE via the EU CEG and making a declaration on the EU CEG that they are responsible for the safety and quality of these products.”

Information leaflets

The HSE National Environmental Health Service has published advice leaflets for retailers and importers /manufacturers to advise them of their legal obligations.

Advice for Retailers of Nicotine Inhaling Products (PDF, 208 KB, 4 pages)

Advice for Importers/ Manufacturers of Nicotine Inhaling Products (PDF, 316 KB, 8 pages)

Recall notices

For more information on these RAPEX alerts and the recall notice to retailers about these three products, visit the HSE website through the following links:

• Recall of disposable e-cigarette The Crystal Bling 6000+ puffs (PDF, 568 KB, 1 page)
• Recall of disposable e-cigarette McKesse MK Bar 7000 (PDF, 549 KB,1 page)
• Recall of disposable e-cigarette JNR Crystal Pro Max 5000+ puff (PDF, 549 KB, 1 page)