Trade and Health

[EPT] Tobacco - Directive (Revision) - European Commission Proposal Revision of The Tobacco Products Directive (3 May 2013)

European Commission Proposal Revision of The Tobacco Products Directive. The Tobacco Products Directive (2001/37/EC) regulates the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products in the EU 27 Member States. This notably covers the use of health warnings on packs, the prohibition of descriptions such as ’mild’ or ’light’, the maximum tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide yields, and the prohibition of the sale of tobacco for oral use. In February 2012, the (...)

[e-petition - UK] Minimum unit price for alcohol will save lives

The British Medical Association has launched an e-petition to call on the UK government not to backtrack on its plans to introduce minimum unit pricing (MUP). MUP is shown in models and in practice in Canada to help reduce the harm associated with the heaviest forms of drinking - and in effect will eliminate the bottom end supermarket and low brand lagers and ciders that are bought in high volume and consumed by the most vulnerable parts of our populations. With this e-petition, the (...)

Tobacco Product Directive: Commission proposes bigger health warnings & no plain packaging at EU level

After weeks of intense debates, pressure from the public health community and the resignation of the Health Commissioner, the European Commission has adopted its proposal to revise the Tobacco Product Directive. It is now for adoption/revision by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. It is expected to be adopted in 2014, before the end of the Parliament term. The Tobacco Product Directive will rule how tobacco products can be manufactured, presented and sold. Content of (...)

European Commission taken to Court over privileged access for corporates in EU-India free trade talks

Corporate Europe Observatory launched a legal action against the European Commission for witholding information related to the EU free trade negotiations with India, while sharing the same information with corporate lobbyists. The European Court of Justice will hear the case on January 11 2013. CEO accuses the Commission of discriminating in favour of corporate lobby groups and of violating the EU’s transparency rules. The lawsuit (T-93/11) concerns 17 documents related to the (...)

EU Sugar Regime - should the public health community be concerned?

The European Union (EU) is the world’s biggest producer of beet sugar and the principal importer of raw cane sugar for refining. The EU sugar market is regulated by production quotas (dating back to 1968), a minimum beet price and trade mechanisms. However, the Commission’s legislative proposals for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for 2013 includes no proposal to continue the sugar production quota regime after 2015. An intense struggle is underway between EU sugar (...)

CAP reform towards 2020 – has it delivered what stakeholders expected?

The European Public Health and Agriculture Consortium, of which EPHA is a member, has strongly reacted to Commissioner Ciolos question on whether the CAP reform has delivered what civil society demanded of it: They have told him that "We are about to miss a huge opportunity to align European agriculture and food policy to meet the challenges of food for good health!" “We are about to miss a huge opportunity to align European agriculture and food policy to meet the challenges of food (...)

One death every six seconds due to tobacco - WHO global report 2012

The World Health Organisation published a report providing information on the proportion of adult deaths due to tobacco. It shows that five million people died because of tobacco in 2004: one person every six seconds. It estimates that one billion people are projected to die during the 21st century unless strong actions are taken. WHO global report: mortality attributable to tobacco builds on the WHO’s 2009 report "Global health risks: mortality and burden of disease attributable to (...)

Getting drugs online: Illegal online pharmacies target young people

The International Narcotics Control Board published its Annual report 2011 in which it warns that an increasing number of illegal Internet pharmacies in the world target young audiences via social media - increasing risks of long-term addiction to medicines. The International Narcotics Control Board has chosen to highlight this new trend as national and international regulations find it difficult to address the issue so far. The Annual report 2011 points out that illicit drugs or (...)

Food For Everyone: Towards a Global Deal

On the 23rd of May the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) hosted a conference on global food security under the title “Food for Everyone: Towards a Global Deal”. The purpose of the event was to explore and understand the issue of food security and propose solutions supporting the achievement of the MGDs. With close to one billion people worldwide suffering from hunger1, and a much higher number from malnutrition, food security is again placed high on the political (...)

EPHA position on the modernisation of EU public procurement policy

EPHA has submitted its response to the EC consultation on the Green Paper on the modernisation of EU public procurement policy - Towards a more efficient European procurement market. EPHA’s response argues that public procurement rules must be more flexible where public health and social objectives are concerned so that they can be considered at all successive stages of the process. EPHA response to the Consultation on the modernisation of EU public procurement policy - Towards a (...)