Medsafe Data on Graphene Oxide Discovered in the Product Septanest
M Bell made this Official Information request to Ministry of Health
The request was refused by Ministry of Health.
From: M Bell
Dear Ministry of Health,
A commonly used dental anaethestic known as Septanest has been found to contain graphene oxide by several expert researchers. Graphene oxide is not listed as an ingredient on the data sheet for this product. The presence of GO has been presumed by some to be a contaminant to one of the ingredients, the preservative Methyl parahydroxybenzoate.
My request:
(a) Please provide the data of whatever medsafe knows about the presence of graphene oxide in the product septanest.
(b) If this is a contaminant that is not supposed to be there, please advise what steps that medsafe has taken to recall this product from use in NZ?
(c) Please advise details on your knowledge of the presence of graphene oxide in any other approved medicines or vaccines in NZ.
Yours faithfully,
M Bell
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora
Thank you for your request for official information. The reference number
for your request is: H2024049601
As required under the Official Information Act 1982, Manatū Hauora will
endeavour to respond to your request no later than 20 working days after
the day your request was received. If you'd like to calculate the
timeframe, you can use the Ombudsman's online calculator
here: [1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
If you have any queries, please feel free to contact the OIA Services Team
on [2][email address]. If any additional factors come to light which
are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact us so that
these can be taken into account.
Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [3][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
[4]Ministry of Health information releases
------------------- Original Message
show quoted sections
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act) to the Ministry of Health – Manatū Hauora (the Ministry) on 22 August
2024 for information regarding Septanest. A response to each part of your
request is provided below:
A commonly used dental anaethestic known as Septanest has been found to
contain graphene oxide by several expert researchers. Graphene oxide is
not listed as an ingredient on the data sheet for this product. The
presence of GO has been presumed by some to be a contaminant to one of the
ingredients, the preservative Methyl parahydroxybenzoate.
My request:
(a) Please provide the data of whatever medsafe knows about the presence
of graphene oxide in the product septanest.
(b) If this is a contaminant that is not supposed to be there, please
advise what steps that medsafe has taken to recall this product from use
in NZ?
Septanest does not contain graphene oxide. A list of ingredients is
available by searching for the specific product here:
[1]www.medsafe.govt.nz/regulatory/DbSearch.asp
(c) Please advise details on your knowledge of the presence of graphene
oxide in any other approved medicines or vaccines in NZ.
While the Act allows New Zealanders to ask for information from Ministers
and government agencies, there is no requirement for agencies to create
new information, compile information they do not hold or provide or prove
an opinion. Your questions and the statements that support them appear
designed to engage in a debate about the presence of graphene oxide
medicines rather than a request for official information. The Act does not
support requests where an opinion, comment, argument, or hypothetical
statement is put to the Ministry for response, couched as a request for
information. This part of your request is therefore refused under section
18(g)(i) on the grounds that it is not held by the Ministry.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request with us, including this
decision, please feel free to contact the OIA Services Team
on: [2][email address].
Under section 28(3) of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [3][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
Manatū Hauora | Ministry of Health
M[4]inistry of Health information releases
U[5]nite against COVID-19
show quoted sections
References
Visible links
1. https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/regulatory/D...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
5. https://covid19.govt.nz/
From: M Bell
Dear OIA Requests,
Please answer the questions properly in accordance with the act.
(a) the NZ public is capable of reading package inserts and it is obvious that graphene oxide is not listed as an official ingredient. However I am asking if Medsafe is aware of the presence of graphene oxide as a contaminant or otherwise, hence if the answer to this question is no then please clearly state so. And while you are about it please extend the query to include all of the other available injectable dental anesthetics.
(b) please properly answer in accordance with (a) and extend the query to include all of the other available injectable dental anesthetics approved in NZ.
(c) please provide this information that I have requested. Note I have not asked for an opinion, nor am I attempting to debate anyone as you allege without any evidence.
Yours sincerely,
M Bell
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora
Kia ora
Thank you for your request for official information. The reference number
for your request is: H2024050477
As required under the Official Information Act 1982, Manatū Hauora will
endeavour to respond to your request no later than 20 working days after
the day your request was received. If you'd like to calculate the
timeframe, you can use the Ombudsman's online calculator
here: [1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
If you have any queries, please feel free to contact the OIA Services Team
on [2][email address]. If any additional factors come to light which
are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact us so that
these can be taken into account.
Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [3][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
[4]Ministry of Health information releases
show quoted sections
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora,
Thank you for your response. Manatū Hauora (the Ministry of Health) stands
by the decision made in response to your request for information and has
nothing further to add. While the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act)
allows New Zealanders to ask for information from Ministers and government
agencies, there is no requirement for agencies to create new information,
compile information they do not hold or provide or prove an opinion.
As you have been previously informed under section 28(3) of the Act, you
have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review any decisions made under
your requests. The Ombudsman may be contacted by email at:
[email address] or by calling 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
Manatū Hauora | Ministry of Health
M[1]inistry of Health information releases
U[2]nite against COVID-19
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: M Bell <[FOI #28138 email]>
Sent: Monday, 2 September 2024 16:36
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Response to your request for information, reference:
H2024049601 CRM:0114753
Dear OIA Requests,
Please answer the questions properly in accordance with the act.
(a) the NZ public is capable of reading package inserts and it is obvious
that graphene oxide is not listed as an official ingredient. However I am
asking if Medsafe is aware of the presence of graphene oxide as a
contaminant or otherwise, hence if the answer to this question is no then
please clearly state so. And while you are about it please extend the
query to include all of the other available injectable dental anesthetics.
(b) please properly answer in accordance with (a) and extend the query to
include all of the other available injectable dental anesthetics approved
in NZ.
(c) please provide this information that I have requested. Note I have not
asked for an opinion, nor am I attempting to debate anyone as you allege
without any evidence.
Yours sincerely,
M Bell
show quoted sections
From: M Bell
Dear OIA Requests,
Firstly you have not clearly answered my original questions about septanest.
ie: is Medsafe is aware of the presence of graphene oxide as a contaminant or otherwise?
Please be very clear when you answer this question, to make it easy for you start with a YES or NO answer.
Now to be fair I did extend the scope of the request on 2/9/24 to elicit the same question to other available injectable dental anesthetics. So technically you have 20 working days from then to respond in accordance with the law, therefore you have until September 30 to respond properly please.
Secondly you have also not at any time addressed part of my original request which was “Please advise details on your knowledge of the presence of graphene oxide in any other approved medicines or vaccines in NZ”.
Let me also state for the second time I am not asking Medsafe to to “create new information, compile information they do not hold or provide or prove an opinion”, nor am I trying to debate anyone, I am asking you for the information that you already have, so you are not permitted to refuse my request on that basis.
Yours sincerely,
M Bell
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora M,
Thank you for your response. Manatû Hauora (the Ministry of Health) has
considered your follow-up response and has nothing further to add. As you
have been advised, this information is publicly available. You can search
for graphene oxide in Medsafe’s Product/Application Search, which is
available here: [1]www.medsafe.govt.nz/regulatory/DbSearch.asp.
Searches for ‘graphene’ or ‘graphene oxide’ result in 0 matches, which
confirms this ingredient is not present in any medicine.
The Ministry stands by the decision made in response to your request for
information and as you have been previously informed under section 28(3)
of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review any
decisions made under your requests. The Ombudsman may be contacted by
email at: [email address] or by calling 0800 802 602.
Ngâ mihi
OIA Services Team
Manatû Hauora | Ministry of Health
M[2]inistry of Health information releases
U[3]nite against COVID-19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: M Bell <[FOI #28138 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 19 September 2024 09:38
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Response to your request for information, reference:
H2024049601 CRM:0114753
Dear OIA Requests,
Firstly you have not clearly answered my original questions about
septanest.
ie: is Medsafe is aware of the presence of graphene oxide as a
contaminant or otherwise?
Please be very clear when you answer this question, to make it easy for
you start with a YES or NO answer.
Now to be fair I did extend the scope of the request on 2/9/24 to elicit
the same question to other available injectable dental anesthetics. So
technically you have 20 working days from then to respond in accordance
with the law, therefore you have until September 30 to respond properly
please.
Secondly you have also not at any time addressed part of my original
request which was “Please advise details on your knowledge of the presence
of graphene oxide in any other approved medicines or vaccines in NZ”.
Let me also state for the second time I am not asking Medsafe to to
“create new information, compile information they do not hold or provide
or prove an opinion”, nor am I trying to debate anyone, I am asking you
for the information that you already have, so you are not permitted to
refuse my request on that basis.
Yours sincerely,
M Bell
show quoted sections
From: M Bell
Dear OIA Requests,
So far you are not being helpful.
Stating again, it is not the publicly available information that I am requesting, the package inserts and the online database already purports to dispay the list of ingredients under headings such as “exipient”. I don't know what exactly is in this generic term “exipient” but I would think surely medsafe does.
All of the questions have so far have effectively gone unanswered.
Let me restate the questions in a different way:
Does medsafe have ANY knowledge of the presence of graphene oxide (as a contaminant or otherwise) in any of the available injectable dental anesthetics or in any other approved medicines or vaccines in NZ? Does the “exipient” contain graphene oxide?
If the answer to all these questions is actually a clear "no" then then please clearly state so and the OIA request will be successfully answered.
Possible supporting evidences to this might be reports of tests that confirm certain products do not contain graphene oxide. Or perhaps you might say that we have done a search of the scientific reports we hold and confirm that we do not have any that indicate that there is or could be graphene oxide in any approved medicines or vaccines in NZ.
You work for and are funded by the NZ public, and also by law you are subject to the official information act, so can you please respond appropriately. You have until Sept 30.
Yours sincerely,
M Bell
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora
As you have been previously informed, you can search for graphene oxide in
Medsafe’s Product/Application Search, which is available here:
[1]https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/regulatory/D...
Searches for ‘graphene’ or ‘graphene oxide’ result in 0 matches, which
confirms graphene oxide ingredient is not present in any medicine.
The Ministry stands by the decision made in response to your request for
information.
As you have made repeated requests for the same information, your request
is now considered vexatious and refused under section 18(h) of the Act.
The Ministry will not respond to any further requests for this
information.
Under section 28(3) of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [2][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
Manatū Hauora | Ministry of Health
M[3]inistry of Health information releases
U[4]nite against COVID-19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: M Bell <[FOI #28138 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 26 September 2024 11:30
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Response to your request for information, reference:
H2024049601 CRM:0114753
Dear OIA Requests,
So far you are not being helpful.
Stating again, it is not the publicly available information that I am
requesting, the package inserts and the online database already purports
to dispay the list of ingredients under headings such as “exipient”. I
don't know what exactly is in this generic term “exipient” but I would
think surely medsafe does.
All of the questions have so far have effectively gone unanswered.
Let me restate the questions in a different way:
Does medsafe have ANY knowledge of the presence of graphene oxide (as a
contaminant or otherwise) in any of the available injectable dental
anesthetics or in any other approved medicines or vaccines in NZ? Does the
“exipient” contain graphene oxide?
If the answer to all these questions is actually a clear "no" then then
please clearly state so and the OIA request will be successfully answered.
Possible supporting evidences to this might be reports of tests that
confirm certain products do not contain graphene oxide. Or perhaps you
might say that we have done a search of the scientific reports we hold and
confirm that we do not have any that indicate that there is or could be
graphene oxide in any approved medicines or vaccines in NZ.
You work for and are funded by the NZ public, and also by law you are
subject to the official information act, so can you please respond
appropriately. You have until Sept 30.
Yours sincerely,
M Bell
show quoted sections
From: M Bell
Dear OIA Requests,
You are not able to legitimately refuse the request on the grounds of being vexatious, this is because you have not supplied the information actually requested or alternatively confirmed my very reasonable request for clarification.
You are also not able to legitimately refuse on the grounds of the information being publicly available because I have made it clear that I am not asking for the publicly available information.
I have no interest in vexing you, debating you, neither I am asking you to create new information, to compile information you do not hold or even asking you to provide or prove an opinion.
As stated you have until 30 Sept to respond properly, and if nothing further I will definitely exercise my right to make a complaint to the ombudsman which will specifically look at whether you have in good faith endeavored to supply the information required by the act from a legitimate OIA request.
Yours sincerely,
M Bell
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M Bell left an annotation ()
Complaint made to the ombudsman.
My complaint is that that they changed the scope of the request without consulting me, and then failed to respond to my reasonable requests for clarification on their response. Also further that they made false allegations about my motives, apparently to create a pretext for refusal.
How they changed the scope ... they reinterpreted that my request was asking about whether graphene oxide was listed as an official ingredient when I was clearly asking what or any information they had of it’s presence unofficially or as a contaminant since it has been confirmed as present from testing by several independent researchers. I made it clear that I was not asking for the publicly available ingredients list, I was asking for any information they had on this topic.
When I requested clarification to please confirm that the only knowledge they had was the official ingredients list, i.e. that there is NO information they hold of it being present as a contaminant or otherwise, they would not do so, merely telling me to refer to the official ingredients list. They then attempted to refuse my request on specious grounds.
E.g. suggested without evidence of attempting to debate them, or that I was requesting an opinion, comment, argument, or hypothetical statement couched as a request for information or that I was requesting then to create new information, compile information they do not hold or provide or prove an opinion etc. Then finally declared refusal of my request on the grounds of being vexatious.
Another thing that I don't appreciate is the way they remain under the heading of “OIA Requests” rather than addressing the response as the person writing the response.
What would I like to happen? I would like MoH Medsafe to respond signed with the name of the actual person writing the response, and I would like them to supply the information requested. One such response (if it is in fact true) could be to clearly say that they hold no information whatsoever about the presence of graphene oxide (as a contaminant or otherwise) in any medicine or vaccines in NZ apart from the publicly available ingredients lists.
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