The European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) published a statement on emerging health and environmental issues. The SCHEER statement on emerging health and environmental issues draws attention to 14 emerging issues in the non-food area that Committee members have identified as having a potential impact on human health and/or the […]
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The European Union is taking another important step in protecting EU consumers’ health against chemicals known to cause cancer and reproductive health problems, limiting the use of these hazardous chemicals in clothing, textiles and footwear. Following a new restriction under the REACH Regulation, adopted on 10 October 2018, 33 chemicals that are Carcinogenic, Mutagenic or Toxic
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Articles 15 and 16 of the Tobacco Products Directive provide for EU-wide systems of traceability and security features for tobacco products to address the issue of illicit trade. The traceability system aims to: Contribute to reducing the circulation of non-compliant tobacco products Reduce artificially cheap supplies of illegal tobacco products Protect public health, State budgets, and
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Falsified medicines are often disguised as authentic medicines but may contain ingredients of bad or toxic quality, or in the wrong dosage. As they have not been properly checked for quality, safety and efficacy, as required by strict EU authorisation, they can pose a real risk to your health. As falsified medicines become more sophisticated,
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In a public statement made at the Turkish Grand National Assembly Commission on Planning and Budget, Minister of Finance Naci Ağbal stated that plans to allow the importation and production of heat-not-burn tobacco products and electronic nicotine delivery systems in Turkey were withdrawn. He confirmed that these products would not be sold or produced in
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Public health officials regularly collect and analyse data to map disease, spot patterns, identify causes and respond to outbreaks. Surveillance, when conducted ethically, is the foundation for programs to promote human well-being at the population level and can contribute to reducing inequalities. However, it is not without risks for participants and sometimes poses ethical dilemmas.
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The EU has produced new rules on medical devices to enhance patient safety and modernise public health. There are over 500,000 types of medical devices and in-vitro diagnostic medical devices on the EU market. Examples of medical devices are contact lenses, x-ray machines, pacemakers, breast implants and hip replacements and sticking plasters. In vitro diagnostic
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Over 500 measles cases were reported for January 2017 in Europe with 85{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96} of them coming from 7 of the 14 endemic countries (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Switzerland and Ukraine). Measles continues to spread within and among European countries, with the potential to cause large outbreaks wherever immunization coverage has dropped below the necessary
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The EU has produced an infographic to show how the EU’s Scientific Committees assess risks. It not only shows in a clear and concise way how the Committees function but also provides concrete examples of how their work impacts EU legislation. To download the infographic on Risk Assessment from the ec.europa.eu website
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All medicinal products in the EU are subject to a strict testing and assessment of their quality, efficacy and safety before being authorised. Once placed on the market they continue to be monitored to ensure that any aspect which could impact the safety profile of a medicine is detected and assessed and that necessary measures
