Tag: Health

Rising levels of cancer along with increasing brain, thyroid and reproductive problems have led an international group of scientists to call for tougher EU regulation on some chemicals used in everyday life.

In order to fight obesity, the European Union needs to engage not only governments and academia, but also various industries in the area of prevention, according to an American obesity expert. "The most important thing you can learn from us [Americans] is what not to do," he told EurActiv in an interview.

The United States is often ahead of Europe when it comes to the newest technology but also unhealthy lifestyles. Therefore, the EU could look to the US for solutions on how to deal with obesity, says James O. Hill.

As more people are affected by rising energy costs across Europe it is time for EU leaders to finally re-balance the energy debate and put affordability and security of supply on a par with decarbonisation goals, argues Milton Catelin.

As production and sales move underground, governments lose their ability to regulate, assess and control alcohol distribution. This can result in serious public health risks, especially for the poorest and heaviest drinkers, writes Marjana Martinic.

One of the global financial crisis' consequences has been the lack of access to treatment for millions of Europeans. According to health promoters, alternative solutions to the problem may be the way forward.

Europeans are the heaviest drinkers in the world and in some EU member states, such as Luxembourg and the Czech Republic, the alcohol consumption is 2.5 times more than what an average person in the world drinks. The Commission's new strategy on alcohol, to be published later this year, has to better address the issue of alcohol-related harm, MEPs say.

Cancer diseases are becoming more complex and EU research institutes have to work closer together to identify diagnosis and define better treatment for the patients, experts say.

The content of European Council working party meetings on the EU’s tobacco policy review is being leaked to the industry, said an EU source who added that the debate is “hotting up”.

As society ages, brain-related disorders are expected to affect at least one in three persons during their lifetime, costing some €800 billion in Europe every year. The EU has declared May 2013 European Month of the Brain to highlight the need for more research in this field.

In the wake of the horsemeat scandal which rocked Europe’s food industry, the European Commission has proposed measures to tighten controls on the health of animals and plants entering the European food chain.

The Scottish high court ruled on Friday (3 May) that the government has the right to introduce a legally binding minimum price on alcohol, the first of its kind in the EU. The spirits industry says it will appeal the court ruling.

French surgeons have fitted 650 people with replacement hips that had not yet been certified as meeting European standards, health officials said on Thursday (2 May). The case resembles last year's scandal over faulty breast implants, which triggered a revision of the EU's legislation on medical devices.

The General Court of the European Union has ordered the European Medicines Agency (EMA) not to release documents on clinical trials, after two access-to-documents were requested, at least until the Court has issued a final ruling.

The European Commission's proposed revision on the Clinical Trials Directive is an important step forward, but does not go far enough, says the Cochrane Collaboration, a healthcare NGO which advocates more transparency in clinical trials.

Giovanni Kessler, head of the EU's anti-fraud office OLAF, has come under fire from MEPs and NGOs alike, after a Maltese online newspaper published a leak of the agency's investigation into former EU commissioner John Dalli, who was forced to resign last year amid a tobacco lobbying scandal. OLAF said it had no comment to make.

The European Parliament is debating a draft biopiracy law requiring industry to compensate indigenous people if it makes commercial use of local knowledge such as plant-based medicines.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder affects one in 20 children and adolescents in Europe. A new expert's white paper on the disease should galvanise more research into the disorder that causes much more harm and needs more urgent treatment than people believe, says Dr Susan Young.

Exposure to traffic pollution and noise can in the long run lead to atherosclerosis, according to a German study which for the first time explored the links between the two.

German centre-left MEP Dagmar Roth-Behrendt is proposing a centralised authority to approve medical devices before they are sold on the EU market.

Since the European Commission tabled its proposal to revise the Clinical Trials Directive last July, the focus in the debate has broadly shifted from supporting European research to patient safety and transparency, suggesting health campaigners have gained the upper hand over big pharmaceutical firms. The legislation will be debated in the European Parliament’s Environment Committee on 24 April.

As Europe’s population ages, bone fractures due to osteoporosis are likely to result in increasing burden on healthcare systems, according to a new report by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).

Criminal fraud proceedings began today (17 April) in France over a breast implants scandal that affected 400,000 women globally. The case highlights the continuing absence of a European collective judicial redress tool for victims, says a European consumer organisation.