Public Health Policy in the EU

Latest news on the public health policy of the European Union.

Commission proposal on smoke-free environments - briefing — 30 June 2009, 16:38 CET

The European Commission has adopted, after extensive consultation, a proposal for an European Union Council Recommendation calling on all the EU Member States to bring in laws to protect their citizens from exposure to tobacco smoke by 2012. Tobacco remains the largest single cause of premature death and disease in the European Union. According to conservative estimates, 79,000 adults, including 19,000 non-smokers, died in the EU-25 in 2002 due to exposure to tobacco smoke at home (72,000) and in their workplace (7,300).

European Medicines Agency Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) — 25 June 2009, 17:38 CET

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) is responsible for preparing the European Medicines Agency's opinions on all questions concerning medicinal products for human use, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 726/2004. The CHMP plays a vital role in the marketing procedures for medicines in the European Union.

Action against Cancer: A European Partnership - briefing — 24 June 2009, 22:25 CET

The European Commission on 24 June set up a European Partnership for Action against Cancer, reinforcing its long-term commitment to the fight against cancer. The partnership will focus on actions that can be taken at EU level to more effectively prevent and control cancer across Europe. In Europe, one in three people will develop cancer in their lifetime. This translates to 3.2 million people being diagnosed with the disease every year. Cancer is not equally distributed in Europe and the chances of surviving cancer differ greatly between countries. By bringing together all relevant organisations working on cancer, the intention is to identify gaps, address needs and learn from each other.

European Partnership Action Against Cancer: contribution of EU-funded research — 24 June 2009, 22:17 CET

On 24 June, the European Commission adopted the Communication, 'Action Against Cancer: European Partnership', to support the Member States in their efforts to tackle this major health challenge. One of the four proposed areas for action within this Partnership is the coordination of cancer research. This background note provides further information on the European Union's commitment to cancer research and its coordination in Europe.

Bathing water quality - Annual report, 2009 bathing season — 11 June 2009, 16:23 CET

The annual bathing water report presented by the European Commission and the European Environment Agency on 10 June reveals that the large majority of bathing sites across the European Union met EU hygiene standards in 2008. During that bathing season some 96% of coastal bathing areas and 92% of bathing sites in rivers and lakes complied with minimum standards. The report provides useful water quality information for the millions of people who visit Europe's beaches every summer.

Human swine influenza A(H1N1) - briefing — 27 April 2009, 18:45 CET

Swine influenza (swine flu) is an acute viral infection of the respiratory tract in pigs caused by type A influenza virus. The mortality rate is low in pigs and recovery usually occurs within 7-10 days. Swine origin influenza viruses also occur in wild birds, poultry, horses and humans, but interspecies transmission is considered a rare event. So far three influenza type A virus subtypes: H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2 have been found in pigs.

EU - Second European Quality of Life Survey - Overview (EUROFOUND) — 16 April 2009, 23:14 CET

The second European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS), carried out by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living andWorking Conditions (Eurofound) from September 2007 to February 2008, represents a unique attempt to explore quality of life throughout Europe. With information gathered from 35,000 interviews conducted in 31 countries, it is a major source of information, highlighting for policymakers and other interested groups the social and economic challenges facing the EU in the wake of the two recent rounds of enlargement. For four out of five Europeans, health is key to quality of life. This report also includes information on work-life balance. More than a quarter (27%) of workers in the EU27 feel that they spend too much time in work; more men than women are of this opinion (29% of men and 24% of women). Enabling citizens to develop a balance between family life, personal commitments and working time has become central to the social policy debate.

EU pesticide review programme — 18 March 2009, 23:27 CET

The European Commission made today an important step forward in its efforts to ensure improved protection of human health and the environment, as it completed the review of existing pesticides that were on the market before 1993. This programme concerned about 1,000 substances, of which about 250 have passed the harmonised EU safety assessment. All reviewed pesticides have undergone a detailed risk evaluation with respect to their effects on humans and on the environment. This important achievement is the result of a considerable joint effort by the Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Member States.

Europe for patients — 19 February 2009, 11:39 CET

Europe for patients - A European Commission campaign bringing together different policy initiatives that share a common goal - better health care for all in Europe. EU Health Prize for Journalists 2009

Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly-Identified Health Risks — 03 February 2009, 22:52 CET

The European Commission's Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly-Identified Health Risks - SCENIHR - provides opinions on questions concerning emerging or newly identified risks and on broad, complex or multidisciplinary issues requiring a comprehensive assessment of risks to consumer safety or public health and related issues not covered by other Community risk assessment bodies. Examples of potential areas of activity include potential risks associated with interaction of risk factors, synergic effects, cumulative effects, antimicrobial resistance, new technologies such as nanotechnologies, medical devices including those incorporating substances of animal and/or human origin, tissue engineering, blood products, fertility reduction, cancer of endocrine organs, physical hazards such as noise and electromagnetic fields (from mobile phones, transmitters and electronically controlled home environments), and methodologies for assessing new risks.

Cancer screening in the European Union - report 2009 — 22 January 2009, 16:22 CET

COM(2008)882 - Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Implementation of the Council Recommendation of 2 December 2003 on cancer screening (2003/878/EC)

Report on cancer screening in Europe - briefing — 22 January 2009, 16:23 CET

Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the European Union. Breast, cervical and colorectal cancer accounts for 32% of cancer deaths in women and 11% in men. With an ageing population, the figures are due to increase, unless preventive measures are taken to reduce cancer deaths. The European Union shares a common commitment to ensuring proper screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer, as set out in Council Recommendation of 2 December 2003 on cancer screening (2003/878/EC). In the first implementation report, the European Commission highlights that although much progress has been made in the field of cancer screening, Member States have not fully put this screening in place. Less than half of the minimum recommended numbers of screenings take place in the EU each year. By providing a clear description of the situation and the gaps, this report helps to renew the commitment to put in place breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening as a crucial and cost-effective measure to reduce the burden of cancer in the European Union.

Green paper on the European Workforce for Health — 16 December 2008, 00:42 CET

The European Commission has adopted a green paper on the EU workforce for health. This marks the beginning of a consultation period which aims to identify common responses to the many challenges facing the health workforce in Europe. In an ageing Europe, with growing healthcare costs and rising expectations from both citizens and patients, a high quality health workforce is crucial for successful health systems. The health workforce plays an important role in the EU economy accounting for about 10% of all jobs. In addition, 70% of EU healthcare budgets are allocated to salaries and employment related issues.

Patient safety in Europe - briefing — 15 December 2008, 19:14 CET

Each year, in the EU, between 8% and 12% of patients admitted to hospitals suffer harm from the healthcare they receive, including from healthcare associated infections. Much of that harm is preventable, says the European Commission. Today, the Commission has adopted a Communication and proposal for a Council Recommendation with specific actions that EU Member States can take, either individually, collectively or with the Commission, to improve the safety of patients.

EU Directive and Action Plan on organ donation and transplantation - briefing — 08 December 2008, 23:47 CET

The European Commission has adopted important safety and quality measures for organ donation and a 10 point action plan to work with EU Member States on strengthening organ donation and transplantation systems in Europe. For many patients, organ transplantation represents the only life saving treatment available. There are currently 56,000 patients waiting for a suitable organ donor in the EU. It is estimated that every day 12 people die while waiting for transplantation. The Directive and Action Plan address three key challenges: improving the quality and safety of organs across Europe, increasing organ availability and making transplant systems more efficient and accessible.

European Commission website on organ donation — 05 December 2008, 14:04 CET

The Commission, under article 152 of the Amsterdam Treaty, will consider the need to identify, monitor and control the factors influencing the quality and safety of organs used for transplantation at European Union level.

EU approach to tackling Rare Diseases - briefing — 11 November 2008, 18:51 CET

The European Commission adopted on 11 November 2008 a Communication and a proposal for a Council Recommendation on rare diseases setting out an overall Community strategy to support EU Member States in diagnosing, treating and caring for the 36 million EU citizens with rare diseases. The limited number of patients affected and the fragmentation of knowledge about them across the European Union, makes rare diseases a prime example of where working at European level is necessary and beneficial.

Health risks from exposure to noise from personal music players - briefing — 13 October 2008, 15:12 CET

Listening to personal music players at a high volume over a sustained period can lead to permanent hearing damage, according to an opinion of the EU Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) released today. The scientific opinion shows that 5-10 per cent of personal music player listeners risk permanent hearing loss, if they listen to a personal music player for more than one hour per day each week at high volume settings for at least 5 years. The European Commission had asked the independent scientific committee to examine this issue, given the widespread use of personal music players and the surge in the number of young people exposed to such noise. Scientists confirm that there is cause for concern and the European Commission will now examine with EU Member States and stakeholders, possible measures that could be taken to better protect children and adolescents from exposure to noise from personal music players and other similar devices.

EU mercury strategy — 25 September 2008, 19:02 CET

European Commission website on the various European Union initiatives to protect EU citizens' health and the environment from the dangers of mercury.

EU ban on mercury exports - briefing — 25 September 2008, 19:07 CET

The EU Council today adopted legislation banning all exports of mercury from the European Union. The export ban is a key part of the EU's strategy for reducing the global supply of mercury and thereby limiting emissions of the highly toxic heavy metal into the environment. The legislation requires mercury that is no longer used in the chlor-alkali industry – the chemical industry sector responsible for chlorine and caustic soda production – or that is produced in certain other industrial operations, to be put into safe storage once the export ban takes effect in March 2011.

Excise duty on tobacco products - guide — 16 July 2008, 21:51 CET

The European Commission presented on 16 July a Report and a proposal for a Directive to amend the current EU excise duty legislation on tobacco. The draft EU Directive foresees a gradual increase in the EU minimum taxation levels on cigarettes and fine cut tobacco up to 2014. It also updates the definitions of different types of tobacco products so as to remove loopholes which allow certain cigarettes or fine cut tobacco to be presented as cigars, cigarillos or pipe tobacco and therefore benefiting from a lower tax rate. Today's proposal will narrow differences between EU Member States' tobacco taxation levels and so help tackle intra-EU tobacco smuggling. It would also make the taxation rules more transparent, thereby creating a level playing field for manufacturers and giving flexibility to Member States to set minimum taxes. It also aims to contribute to reducing tobacco consumption by 10 per cent within the next 5 years.

European Health Insurance Card - guide — 16 July 2008, 10:36 CET

Four years after its launch, 173 million people have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) in their pocket. Citizens from 31 European countries can use the card to get the medical care they need if they fall ill or have an accident in one of the participating countries (the EU, Norway, Liechtenstein Iceland and Switzerland). The EHIC simplifies procedures and cuts red tape for citizens when disaster strikes during a temporary stay abroad.

Sunscreen products - EU guide — 16 July 2008, 10:30 CET

As the holiday season gets underway, the European Commission is alerting consumers to a new sunscreen labelling regime which gives consumers clear information to make informed choices about the products they chose for themselves and their families. Sunscreen products protect from UV radiation and can be effective in preventing sun-burn and skin cancer. Consumers should therefore use sunscreens and clearer labelling should help consumers to make informed choices. The Commission is also seeking to remind consumers that there are several reasons why sunscreen products should be only one out of a number of measures to protect from the UV radiation of the sun. See information, facts and figures and pictograms below.

Special Eurobarometer survey on health and long-term care — 29 April 2008, 23:04 CET

According to this Eurobarometer report carried out in 2007, most Europeans expect to need long-term care at some point in their lives (with an EU average of 13% seeing this as inevitable, 32% likely and 29% unlikely but possible). However, 86% of Europeans would prefer to be cared for in their own homes or that of a relative should they become dependent, as opposed to only 8% preferring an institution. (pdf format)

Pilot on eHealth indicators — 25 April 2008, 16:47 CET

Pilot on eHealth indicators: 'Benchmarking ICT use among General Practitioners in Europe' final report - the European Commission on 25 April published a pan-European survey on electronic services in healthcare (eHealth) that shows 87% of European doctors (General Practitioners) use a computer, 48% with a broadband connection. European doctors increasingly store and send patients' data such as lab reports electronically. In using such eHealth applications, doctors and medical services have already improved healthcare in Europe through, for example, more efficient administration and shorter waiting times for patients. The report also highlights where doctors could make better use of ICT to offer services such as telemonitoring, electronic prescriptions and cross border medical services.