Newsletter August 2007

Secretariat News August 2007

EPHA is still in the process of recruiting a Secretary General. Deadline for applications is the 10 September 2007.
Events organised by EPHA
Meetings and events attended by EPHA
Caroline and Lara met two representatives from the North West England Office working on health issues in Brussels.
From 27 to 28 August 2007 Frazer Goodwin attended the European regional consultative meeting of WHOs intergovernmental Working group on public health innovation and intellectual proerty rights in (...)

Annual Conference of Health Action International, October 2007

Health Action International, an EPHA member, will hold its annual conference and assembly in Brussels on 12-14 October 2007.
This is advance notice of the HAI Europe annual general meeting.
This year it will be held in Brussels on Friday 12, Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 October.
There will be an Open Seminar featuring current European issues (e.g. DTCA, Pharmacovigilance, Patients’ organisations) on the Friday; members of the HAI Europe Association will be meeting on the Saturday and Sunday. (...)

DETERMINE: a new consortium on socio-economical determinants of health

EuroHealthNet, in close collaboration with the Czech National Institute of Public Health (NIPH), in July 2007 launched a new EU consortium for action on socio-economic determinants of health entitled DETERMINE.
DETERMINE will concentrate on the underlying socio-economic determinants for health. It will build on and take forward existing work in the area of the social determinants of health and on health inequalities in an EU context.
To undertake this work it will establish a consortium of (...)

**Updated** DIETS project: Dietitians Improving the Education and Training Standards

Updated with information about the conference on 6-7 September. A new Thematic Network called DIETS (Dietitians Improving the Education and Training Standards) was launched in October 2006 and is led by the University of Plymouth. EPHA is a member of the network.
DIETS builds on the excellent foundations which the European Federation of Associations of Dietitians (EFAD) established through their initiatives in education, such as developing the European Benchmark Statement for Dietitians. (...)

Drinkers risk bowel cancer

Cancer Research UK has published a study into the increase risk of developing bowel cancers due to drinking alcohol, on 30 July 2007.
The major study was undertaken as part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) by Cancer Research UK has found that regular drinkers face a more than 10% increased risk of developing bowel cancer, and the more people drink the higher the risk.
Published in the International Journal of Cancer the epidemiological study (...)

International health conference in Greece, September 2007

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and the London School of Economics (LSE) are organising an international health conference entitled: Recent Advances in Clinical Medicine, Public Health and Health Policy that will take place from 20 to 22 September 2007 in Athens, Greece.
This 3-day event will focus on areas of clinical medicine, public health, and health policy that are of particular relevance to South Eastern European countries.
More specifically, the conference aims to address (...)

WHO addresses children’s environmental health risk

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first ever report highlighting children’s special susceptibility to harmful chemical exposures at different periods of their growth.
This new volume of the WHO is in cooperation with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) within the International Programme on Chemical Safety. Published as part of the WHO Environmental Health Criteria series, Principles for Evaluating Health Risks in (...)

**UPDATED** IGC talks on Reform Treaty: Health provisions at stake!

EPHA’s comments on the on-going Treaty revision are based on the experience of campaigning during the debate on the drafting of the Treaty. Individual EPHA members working at national or regional levels may have a different viewpoint. This is not a legal, scientific nor academic interpretation.
Updated with the changes announced at the June 2007 Council Summit and the agreement reached by Member States on 19 October 2007.
This article compares the legal provisions on public health of the (...)

**Updated** 2007 IGC talks: EU leaders reach agreement on a ’Reform Treaty’

On 19 October 2007, the 27 Member States finally reached agreement on the text of the Reform Treaty which will be formally adopted on 13 December in Lisbon, Portugal.
In June, EU leaders agreed on the mandate for the 2007 Inter-governmental conference (IGC), to draft the Reform Treaty after the ’Constitutional Treaty’ of 2004 was rejected by popular referenda in France and the Netherlands. The final text differs from the original mandate in several areas.
The Reform Treaty
After much (...)

European Agency for Health and Safety at Work: review of progress made in 2006

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (OSHA) has published its annual report for 2006. The report outlines three main areas of progress: reinforcement of the agency’s tripartite governance structure; communication on occupational safety and health; and scientific research on emerging risks.
In 2006, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (OSHA) strengthened its tripartite governance structure and network by involving workers, employers and governments more closely (...)

Which are our rights as consumers?

The European Commission, DG SANCO, launched a new brochure to answer usual citizen’s questions about their rights as consumers, on July 2007.
The publication, entitled Your rights as a consumer: How the European Union protects your interests, is intended to help citizens learn more about what the EU is doing for European consumers, how it is protecting consumer’s rights, and how to uphold their rights in case of a problem.
The brochure presents clearly and briefly the main problems that (...)

Consultation on public access to documents held by European institutions

The European Commission consulted the public between April and July 2007 on access to documents. The EC is planning to review the current legislation at the end of 2007. EPHA responded to the consultation.
Background information on the consultation
On 18th April 2007, the European Commission issued a Green Paper on public access to documents held by institutions of the European Community.
The right of access to documents is of crucial importance to the promotion and protection of public (...)

Public consultation on EFSA soybean opinion

The European Commission DG SANCO has opened public consultation on EFSA opinion about genetically modified soybean for food and feed uses, on 10 August 2007.
The public has the opportunity to make comments on the EFSA opinion during a month from the day of the publication of the EFSA opinion (10 August 2007). The comments should be addressed to the European Commission by an on-line form.
Important information:
EFSA opinion
Form to make comments
A2704-12 Soybean
Deadline:10 September 2007 (...)

**Updated** Have your say on nanotechnology

Updated with suggested answers to the Commission consultation from health and environment organisations.
The European Commission has announced on 19 July 2007 a public consultation on responsible nanosciences and nanotechnologies research.
The consultation will provide input for a recommendation to the Member States on a possible Code of Conduct for this emerging area of science, which the Commission will put forward at the end of 2007.
Contributions are expected from a broad cross-section (...)

Conference on the Operation of the Clinical Trials Directive, October 2007

The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) will hold a conference in London at the EMEA premises on Wednesday 3 October 2007 regarding the operation of the Clinical Trials Directive (Directive 2001/20/EC).
The scope of the EMEA conference is on EU clinical trials legislation and its implementation in the context of clinical trials of medicinal products.
The objectives of the EMEA conference:
provide an overview of the experience to date with the operation of the Directives 2001/20/EC and (...)

World Health Report focuses on Health dimension of Security

The annual World Health Report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for 2007 addresses the health threats to global security.
This year’s World health report, entitled "A safer future: global public health security in the 21st century", was published on 23 August 2007.
Its message is that more than at any time in history global public health security depends on international cooperation and the willingness of all countries to act effectively in tackling new and emerging threats. At (...)

WHO publishes World Health Data for 2007

The World Health Organisation has published the World Health Statistics for 2007 in an updated version of their Statistical Information System (WHOSIS).
This third edition of WHO’s report includes a section with 10 highlights of global health statistics for the past year as well as an expanded set of 50 health statistics.
WHOSIS database can be either used as an on-line tool or downloaded along with the data tables, and allows access to comparative data from across the world.
WHO makes (...)

Scientific summaries easy-to-understand for public

European Commission DG SANCO has published three summaries on scientific opinions on the safety of tooth whiteners, sunbeds and nanotechnology intended for non-scientists. The publications are available from summer 2007.
European Commission DG SANCO aims with these publications to bring the results of the Scientific Committees closer to the public by providing summaries of the most relevant opinions in a format and language which can be easily understood.
There are three non-food (...)

Commission continues infringement procedure against Finland over oral tobacco

The European Commission has decided to continue the infringement procedure against Finland due to its non-compliance with the Court judgement that confirmed Finland’s failure to comply with a Directive prohibiting oral tobacco from being placed on the market.
In July 2007, The European Commission sent a Reasoned Opinion to Finland for non-compliance with Article 8 of Directive 2001/37/EC on the manufacture, presentation, and sale of tobacco products.
In addition, the Commission believes (...)

WHO adopts new guidance on Malaria

WHO guidance on insecticide-treated mosquito nets is changed to recommend that they be universally distributed free of charge.
WHO recommends universal free insecticide-treated mosquito nets to protect against malaria.
On 16 August 2007 the World Health Organization (WHO) issued new global guidance for the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets to protect people from malaria following successful trials in Kenya. For the first time, WHO recommends that insecticidal nets be long-lasting, (...)

**Updated** Single European Telephone numbers for social services

This article has been updated with the KVBB article: 116 117 - single European freephone number for medical on-call services
The European Commission has been investigating dedicating specific telephone numbers to services of social value across the EU.
In the Spring the Directorate General of the Commission in charge of telecoms and information technology, DG for Information Society and Media held a consultation on what such services could be, and requested those wishing to run services to (...)

**Updated** Mattel recalls dangerous Chinese toys

This article has been updated with the Press release about Toy Safety(12 September 2007), the Third Mattel recall (September 2007) and the European Commission press release to carry out two month review of toy safety controls (September 2007)
The toys enterprise Mattel Inc. has launched a third large-scale recall of dangerous toys made in China on September 2007, after the two previous ones of August, that highlights the risks of lead pigments and magnets for children.
The third Mattel (...)

Report against baby milk advertising

National Childbirth Trust (NCT), Save the Children and UNICEF UK, published a report, A weak formula for legislation: how loopholes in the law are putting babies at risk, to ask UK Government to stop formula milk promotion, on 7 August 2007.
The report was released during the World Breastfeeding Week and coincided with the Government and the Food Standards Agency’s current review of existing legislation.
The three organisations are calling on the UK Government to strengthen the 1995 UK law (...)

Polish nurses protest about health spending

Nurses and doctors in Poland have taken the streets during a month, between mid-June and mid-July 2007, to force the government to increase wages and inject more funds into the public health sector.
The main protest, on 21 June, gathered around 7.000-10.000 nurses and doctors, who stayed overnight in front of the government’s headquarters, in Warsaw. The next day, the police removed the protesters from the city road with a result of three wounded nurses, one reported to have had a heart (...)

**Updated** Joint statement on the way forward for health information launched!

**This article has been updated with the latest developments concerning the Statement on Information to Patients**
During the course of the summer, a group of various health NGOs jointly collaborated to write a statement outlining the future steps to be taken by policy-makers. The overarching aim was to maintain public health concerns at the heart of the political initiatives on information to patients.
The statement was endorsed by 21 organisations. It was sent to the Steering Committee (...)

**Updated** EMEA improves provision of information for patients and consumers

This article is updated with information relative to the ’clinical trials meeting’ organised by the EMEA on 3 October 2007.
Outcomes of the clinical trials meeting
The activities of the meeting on clinical trials organised by the EMEA on 3 October 2007 focused on strengths and shortcomings of the current legal framework. No general consensus was risen in this matter. In particular, the debate was characterised by diverging opinions on the directive’s quality.
A call for simplification and a (...)

Indian Court rejects Novartis challenge to generics

The high court in Madras has rejected the Novartis challenge to Indian Patent laws. Campaigners for access to essential medicines have welcomed the courts ruling, having feared that any other judgement would have jeopardised the large scale generic drug manufacturing industry in India.
The company had claimed that Indian patent law did not comply with the country’s Constitution following the rejection of their patent application for a cancer drug "Glevic".
The full text of the judgement (...)

European Commission consults on the future of pharmaceuticals for human use

Following the recent consultation on information to patients on medicinal products, the European Commission - DG Enterprise- has launched a new consultation on "the future of pharmaceuticals for human use". Closing date: 12 October.
Why launch a new consultation on pharmaceuticals?
The consultation on the future of pharmaceuticals for human use touches a wide range of issues beyond the issue of information to patients. However, the purpose of DG Enterprise remains to foster the (...)