GAVIN MILLAR AGAINST NZ HERALD

The NZ Herald published a story on 29 April 2024, headlined NZ company Eagle Protect helps US police fight fentanyl danger. The story was about the development and sale of fentanyl resistant gloves to seven US sheriff’s departments who wanted to provide their staff with extra protection against exposure to the drug.

Gavin Millar complained the headline and lead on the story about the fentanyl drug danger was inaccurate. While fentanyl was an extremely dangerous drug to those who took it, there was no risk of overdosing due to accidental exposure through the skin. He said the NZ Herald should make a commitment to avoid “printing lies” from a company trying to sell their products.

The NZ Herald editor-in-chief said it was over to agencies to determine and manage the risk to their staff by purchasing suitable safety gear. To suggest that fentanyl did not pose a risk to users and others was counter-intuitive, given there were 112,000 drug overdose deaths in the US last year. That was the massive problem Eagle Protect chief executive Steve Ardagh referred to in the article.

The article did not say that police officers were in danger of overdosing due to fentanyl exposure. They just wanted extra protection to avoid exposure.

The Media Council considers this to be a straightforward news story about Eagle Protect’s sale and marketing of protective gloves. While Mr Millar believed there was no risk of overdosing through skin contact, the story did not say there was – it merely reported that authorities wanted fentanyl resistant gloves. It was not inaccurate. 

There were no grounds to proceed.