Safety notice issued over two vapes containing illegal amounts of nicotine

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has issued a safety notice over two vaping products that contain illegal amounts of nicotine.

According to the notice, issued on Wednesday, the products that were found to exceed permitted nicotine levels were: E-LIQUID: Tobacco 24mg/ml, Ben Son 24mg/ml and USA Mix 24mg/ml; and QST Puff Flex 2800 puffs 5 per cent nicotine electronic cigarette in the Red Bull, Peach Ice, Blueberry on Ice, Watermelon Ice and Mango Ice flavours.

The legal amount of nicotine is 20mg/ml or 2 per cent. However, the HSE sampled these products to find, following laboratory analysis, that the nicotine content in the E-LIQUID refill container was up to 25.4mg/ml and the QST Puff Flex 2800 puffs electronic cigarette greater than 30mg/ml.

Following the analysis, the HSE’s National Environmental Health Service, National Tobacco Control Office, submitted two RAPEX alert notifications to the European Safety Gate, which is the EU rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products.

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It also contacted distributors and importers of e-cigarettes and refill containers known to the HSE to make them aware of this issue. The HSE said it will be following up as required.

Dr Maurice Mulcahy, regional chief environmental health officer at the HSE, said it is the responsibility of manufacturers and importers to ensure e-cigarettes and refill containers fully comply with all legislative requirements.

“This includes the legal onus on manufacturers and importers to give full and proper advance notification to the HSE of their intention to place products on the Irish market via the European Common Entry Gate portal. Furthermore, they are reminded they bear full responsibility for the quality and safety of these products, when placed on the market and used under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions,” he said.

Dr Mulcahy said as a “precautionary measure” it is calling on the public to check their e-cigarettes to ensure they are not the ones implicated in the alert.

“If you have any of these products, we want you to stop using it and return it to the shop where you bought it. We are also asking retailers to stop selling the products listed below and to contact the HSE with supplier traceability details,” he said.

“If retailers have sold or distributed any of the listed products below we want them to recall them by displaying a recall notice in a prominent position in their retail premises and on their website.”

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