Alcohol consumption has fallen slightly in OECD countries over the past twenty years but young people and women are drinking more. Alcohol is becoming more easily available, more affordable and advertised more effectively. Worldwide, alcohol is a leading cause of ill health and premature mortality, accounting for 1 in 17 deaths, and for an even […]
Tackling Harmful Alcohol Use: Economics and Public Health Policy Read More »
Unhealthy diets are a leading factor affecting health and well-being in every European country, with rising overweight and obesity among children of particular concern as it affects up to 27{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96} of 13-year-olds and 33{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96} of 11-year-olds. The leading categories of advertised foods are soft drinks, sweetened breakfast cereals, biscuits, confectionery, snack foods, ready meals and fast
WHO helps reduce the marketing to children of foods Read More »
The commission has adopted a more flexible approach towards the use of GMOs in order to give member states the freedom to decide on their use in their territory, whilst maintaining an EU authorisation system. If member states decide to opt out from allowing a particular GMO to be used in their food chain, they will
Decisions on GMOs in food and feed Read More »
Every year nearly 700,000 Europeans die prematurely from smoking – on average 14 years earlier than non-smokers – yet almost a third of Europeans smoke, with 94{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96} of them having started before the age of 25. The iCoach was an essential component of the EU’s “Ex-smokers are unstoppable” campaign which saw more than a third
New, improved iCoach for ex-smokers Read More »
Between 8{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96} and 12{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96} of patients admitted to hospitals in the EU suffer adverse events such as healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), which place a heavy burden on limited health service budgets. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 1 in 20 hospital in-patients, on average, suffers from an HAI in the EU, that
Health MEPs propose blueprint for safer healthcare Read More »
The EMPATiE project has analysed patient empowerment (PE) for patients with chronic diseases. It has produced a catalogue of best practices in PE, an analysis of barriers to PE, suggestions on how best to transfer good practices between countries and suggestions for EU collaboration on PE over the next decade. To download the final report,
Patient Empowerment Read More »
One of the most striking things about smoking prevalence in Europe has been the relentless increase in smoking by women and girls. This book looks at the best examples of tobacco control policies and programmes worldwide with case studies covering marketing, use of mass media, direct marketing to females, protection from exposure, cessation services and labelling.
Empower women: facing the challenge of tobacco use in Europe Read More »
Several countries in the WHO European Region have recently introduced health-related taxes or subsidies on specific foods and/or nutrients to positively influence dietary intake and health outcomes. This new publication provides information on the use of price policies to promote healthy diets and summarizes recent policy developments from different parts of the Region. To read more,
A tax on ill health Read More »
30{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96} to 40{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96} of all sickness and disability case-loads in OECD countries are related to mental health problems, according to this new OECD report. “Fit Mind, Fit Job: From Evidence to Practice in Mental Health and Work” has estimated that the total cost of mental illness in Europe is around 3.5{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96} of GDP, and argues
Mental Ill-health at work Read More »
This 2013 European Company Survey by Eurofound: Workplace practices: patterns, performance and well-being, surveyed managers in over 24,000 organisations and in nearly 7,000 of these, employee representatives were also interviewed. It found that establishments that use joint employee-management decision-making on daily tasks, have a moderately structured internal organisation, make a limited investment in human resource management but have
European work-place practices Read More »
