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In Conversation with Deputy Simon Coveney

Over 700,000 Units of Illegal Medicines Detained in First Six Months of 2024

HPRA reports continued detentions of substances for likely cosmetic and body image purposes including anabolic steroids and Semaglutide products  

The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) today reported a sharp increase in the volume of illegal medicines detained in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year. The HPRA’s enforcement section detained 706,881 dosage units of falsified and illegal medicines between January and June 2024, compared to 551,582 units for the same period last year. Announcing its detention figures, the HPRA cautioned the public of the serious health risks posed by prescription medicines being purchased online from unauthorised sources. It states that there is no guarantee as to the safety or quality of illegal prescription medicines purchased outside of the regulated pharmacy setting.  

In the first six months of 2024, the most significant categories of illegal products detained included anabolic steroids (23%), analgesics (14%), sedatives (11%) and erectile dysfunction medicines (10%) The breakdown is as follows: 

• Anabolic Steroids – 160,134 units detained.  

• Analgesic medicines – 96,481 units detained.  

• Sedative medicines – 80,773 units detained.  

• Erectile dysfunction medicines – 72,555 units detained.  

As part of its enforcement measures, the HPRA continues to monitor online activity promoting prescription medicines and other substances, and routinely intervenes to disrupt this promotion. In the first six months of this year the key enforcement actions taken include: 

• 1,603 e-commerce listings and/or social media pages amended or shutdown.  

• One prosecution has been initiated and four voluntary formal cautions have been issued. 

Gráinne Power, Director of Compliance at the HPRA, noted the significant increase in 2024 data and the apparent willingness of many people to seek access to unregulated products which may pose significant risks to their health. She emphasized the type of units detained also give an insight into a growing tendency among some consumers to jeopardize their health for aesthetic, cosmetic and body image purposes by seeking out illegal or unapproved substances. 

“It’s alarming to see consumers willing to take risks by purchasing illegal medicines online and from unregulated sources and this includes products for cosmetic and body image purposes. One such example is the amount of illegal anabolic steroids detained. We believe young men in particular, may be sourcing anabolic steroids for body enhancement while being unaware of the serious health complications posed by these products. Anabolic steroids can cause serious physical and psychological health issues. The potential physical side effects alone include heart failure, liver issues, kidney damage, and infertility. 

 Additionally, a notable rise is evident in detentions of Semaglutide*, a prescription medication intended for specific medical purposes such as diabetes or weight management under certain conditions. While overall the numbers detained are small in comparison to other products, we have already in the first six months of 2024 detained almost triple the volume of illegal units of Semaglutide detained last year.  

(*OzempicTM, RybelsusTM and WegovyTM) 

In conclusion, Ms Power stated that “when consumers acquire any medicinal substances outside the regulated supply chain, they forego any assurance of safety, quality, or effectiveness. Some of these substances might not be authorised by any global health authority, while others may be counterfeit or falsified despite appearing legitimate. It’s crucial not to compromise your health by taking such risks. We strongly advise anyone who has bought prescription medications from unauthorised sources to cease using them immediately and to consult their healthcare provider with any concerns about their well-being.”  

Other products of note detained by the HPRA:

The HPRA works in close co-operation with colleagues from An Garda Síochána and Revenue’s Customs Service with whom there is significant inter-agency collaboration to combat the illegal supply of health products into and within Ireland. It also co-operates and shares intelligence with other regulatory and law enforcement agencies worldwide to prevent the illegal manufacture, importation and distribution of medicines, medical devices, and cosmetics. 

The HPRA is responsible for prosecuting cases where it considers that there is a significant risk to public health or where there are persistent non-compliances. The HPRA also supports prosecutions brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to the illegal supply of medicines.  

• Know the dangers of buying prescription medicine online: The HPRA’s digital information campaign with help and advice for members of the public. 

• For more information on the specific dangers of anabolic steroid use, please visit www.zerogains.ie. 

• The HPRA welcomes reports of suspicious activities linked to the supply of medicines and other health products. Anyone can report in confidence to the HPRA at reportacase@hpra.ie or at 01 634 3871. 

The art of getting in front of a crisis – Business Post

With more than three decades of experience in helping organisations to navigate crises, Siobhán Molloy of Káno Communications is a firm believer in businesses swiftly owning up to corporate mistakes

Siobhán Molloy had an onerous task in front of her on a Saturday morning in 2008: telling the nation that it was soon to be separated from its supply of pork.

In her role as an adviser to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), the managing director at Káno Communications was charged with handling the messaging around one of the largest product recalls in the history of the state.

Elevated levels of dioxins, an environmental pollutant, had been found in Irish pork products sold both nationally and internationally. Although they were not so high that they posed an immediate risk to the health of consumers, they were between 80 and 200 times the levels allowed under EU law.

The issue had been caused by contaminated animal feed distributed to a number of farms in both Ireland and Northern Ireland.

“Everyone woke up to warnings on the radio. Morning Ireland, I remember, did a special on it, as every pork product was coming off the shelves. It was the easiest, cleanest, safest way to handle it,” said Molloy, who has more than 30 years’ experience helping organisations navigate their way through crises.

As well as overseeing the handling of the pork dioxin recall, she worked closely with the FSAI to manage the communication of the discovery of horse and pig DNA in Irish beef products in 2013.

More recently, she has aided the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) with monitoring the approval of Covid-19 vaccines and communicating any possible side effects or safety concerns (“of which there were not many”) to the public.

Through all of this, she has developed a particular perspective on what can make, or break, a crisis response.

“Our world today is very volatile and communication moves fast. During a crisis, it’s all about trust and confidence. If you’re not clearly communicating and providing the necessary information, you will fail, and there will be a vacuum,” she said.

Molloy is a major proponent of the fail to prepare, prepare to fail adage. She recommends that any brand hoping to ensure they can weather a crisis create a “crisis playbook” in advance that sets out what to do in the event that something goes wrong. This will prevent frenetic decisions being made in the midst of an actual event.

Running “live crisis simulations” can also be helpful in identifying potential gaps in an organisation’s response before the crisis in question actually arises.

“You need to think about what is the worst thing that could happen, and then plan for it,” she said.

According to Molloy, one of the worst things that a brand can do during a crisis situation is fail to issue any kind of response.

“If something has happened, you need to accept the consequences. Get as much of the news and facts out as fast as you can,” she said.

“Don’t have it pulled out of you through pressure, or have it dribble out. If you don’t own the story, others will.”

Once a company or organisation starts communicating, the public response, whether it be on social media or on the radio airwaves, should be carefully monitored, with any misunderstandings clarified and misinformation corrected in a timely manner.

“Misinformation can, when unchallenged, become reality,” Molloy said.

She cites Glenisk, the Irish organic dairy producer, as a company that handled a recent crisis with particular grace. The manner in which it communicated news of its Offaly plant being destroyed in a massive fire embodied much of the advice Molloy said she would give to a client in a similar situation.

“Vincent Cleary, Glenisk’s managing director, was out straight away explaining what they knew at that point. He was really honest and extremely humble about not knowing what the source of the fire was, or what the company’s plan was in the medium term,” she said.

Glenisk’s decision to honour the milk purchases it had agreed that day was not only a good move from a branding perspective, Molloy said, but indicative of a business with a particularly good set of values.

“Glenisk took a financial hit making sure it looked after its stakeholders, and came across as having great empathy. In the end, its competitors offered them the capacity to make their products at their factories, which is quite incredible.”

Conversely, Boeing’s handling of the grounding of its 737 Max planes left much to be desired, chiefly because the company lagged behind in issuing a response. Two crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia that killed a total of 346 people caused many airlines and aviation authorities to ground the model amid safety concerns.

By the time Boeing had made the decision to formally take the model out of the air, the company had lost control of the narrative, Molloy said. She added that although companies may be inclined to assess the full facts of a situation or conduct an investigation prior to making a public statement, allowing this information vacuum to form within the public sphere is a major mistake.

“As others had acted before [Boeing], it seemed it was grounding its planes due to pressure,” Molloy said. “They should have been quicker to reinforce how seriously they take passenger safety. The undue delay resulted in Boeing losing control of telling its own story.”

Molloy also noted that the decision by Facebook to change its name to Meta seemed to come at a time when the company was facing enhanced scrutiny surrounding how its platforms affect users and society more broadly, a rebranding tactic that, she said, was ill-judged.

“Facebook’s decision to change its name has been perceived in many quarters as a move to distance itself from the barrage of negativity,” she said. “But the problem hasn’t been bottomed out and addressed, so it won’t go away.”

“Originally published in the Business Post on December 19^th”

https://www.businesspost.ie/media-marketing/media-the-art-of-getting-in-front-of-a-crisis-3872b7e5

Three new hires at Káno Communications

Here at Káno we are delighted to announce and officially welcome three new colleagues to support our growing client portfolio.

A winning team!

Last Friday, the team won the prestigious ‘Best Corporate Communications’ campaign at the 28^th national Awards for Excellence in Public Relations for our Eway 2040 campaign on behalf of the Irish Car Carbon Reduction Alliance (ICCRA). The campaign was also ‘highly commended’ in the ‘Best Use of Media Relations’ category, in which a record 28 campaigns were shortlisted.

The annual awards celebrate and recognise outstanding communications campaigns that creatively inspire audiences and deliver real and measurable results that drive organisational objectives.

Our latest accolade represents our 21^st win at these national PR industry awards.

The esteemed judging panel described our winning campaign as a

campaign that demonstrated how PR effectively overcame a challenge for an industry. Through PR it built an initiative from the ground up, with clear objectives to reach multiple audiences through different tactics and carved out a relevant space against the political and consumer tide to achieve impressive outcomes.

Really well done to all the team who tirelessly went beyond to deliver an outstanding client campaign and congratulations to all our fellow 2021 winners.”