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HSE notifies public to stop using four types of vape as EU-wide safety warning issued

Excessive nicotine concentrations were found in the products.

MixCollage-30-Jan-2025-11-07-PM-7222 The affected electronic cigarettes with excessive nicotine concentrations. HSE HSE

THE HSE HAS notified the public to stop using four types of vape after a European product safety alert was issued. 

Excessive nicotine concentrations were found in the products. They are:

  • ADADA A8 1200 puff. Sub-brands (flavours): Vanilla Coke
  • The Crystal PRO MAX 4000+ puff. Sub-brands (flavours): Watermelon Ice BatchNo. MAX20230407
  • Savage Vape. Sub-brands (flavours): Kiwi Passion Fruit Guava 5% Nicotine
  • McKesse MK Bar 7000 12ml. Sub-brand (flavour): Lime Mojito 12ml. Batch Number: Exp: 31/12/2023

The HSE National Environmental Health Service said test results for the four products showed the legal nicotine concentration was exceeded, with sample results ranging between 26.9mg/ml and over 30 mg/ml.

The legal nicotine concentration for electronic cigarettes is 20mg/ml.

“As a precautionary measure, the HSE are advising consumers to check the electronic cigarettes they may have against the products involved in these alerts,” a HSE spokesperson said.

Anyone who has any of these products should stop using them and return them to the shop where they purchased them, the spokesperson said.

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

The HSE has contacted distributors and importers of e-cigarettes and refill containers known to them to make them aware of the issue.

The health service said retailers must remove the products from sale and contact them to provide product and full traceability details.

Any retailers who have sold or distributed any of the products must display a recall notice in a prominent position in their retail premises, on their website and on social media.

Investigation

An undercover investigation by The Journal Investigates this week found numerous examples of vapes that breached regulations being sold illegally.

Over 80% of the shops visited by our team sold them a vape that breached EU regulations in some way, suggesting that many people are unknowingly buying and using vapes that are unsafe, contain substances that are out of date or lack proper safety notices from people with little regard for the rules.

The vapes purchased included expired products, packaging that did not include the correct health warning, a lack of safety leaflets included in the box, and products containing more than the legal limit of e-liquid.

All of the vapes bought by our undercover team claimed to adhere to the concentration of nicotine of 20mg/ml or 2%, but they were unable to independently verify these claims as it would require laboratory testing.

The HSE said they would investigate the stores that illegally sold the vapes, as well as all other breaches The Journal Investigates found from the vapes purchased.

Over 64 tonnes of illegal vapes have also been seized and stopped from entering Ireland in the last two years, according to data obtained by The Journal Investigates from the HSE’s National Environmental Health Service. 

The seizures, calculated by weight rather than value due to the scale and range of varying vaping products on the market, were made alongside multiple enforcement actions against retailers and distributors.

That included two successful prosecutions against Irish businesses last year.

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