Campaign launched to raise awareness of “rare” cancer

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Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash Paralympian Erin Kennedy has given her backing to a campaign which aims to “inspire real change” for cancer patients. The Briton was speaking to mark the launch of a new “Triple Negative Breast Cancer” (TNBC) campaign.  The campaign, called “I count: Triple Negative Breast Cancer Matters,” is designed to ensure people…

Young People and Mental Health

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Photo by Finn on Unsplash Young people’s mental health is being increasingly compromised by the excessive use of social media, concerns about climate change and a sense of powerlessness.  This is a political issue for the EU because it can often be linked to the labour market and housing situation facing young people “Young people and mental health”…

New Measures to Protect Workers from Asbestos

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Photo by Carl Tronders on Unsplash MEPs have approved new rules to protect EU workers from the health risks related to asbestos and to improve the early detection of asbestos. On Tuesday, plenary adopted with 614 votes in favour, 2 against and 4 abstentions a directive, that will decrease the occupational exposure limit of asbestos and calls for…

Commission Approves Pfizer Takeover of Seagen

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Photo by pina messina on Unsplash The European Commission has unconditionally approved the proposed acquisition of Seagen by Pfizer, under the EU Merger Regulation.  The Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns in the European Economic Area (‘EEA’). Seagen and Pfizer are pharmaceutical companies.  In the EEA, the companies’ marketed and pipeline products overlap in the treatment of several…

European Mental Health Strategy

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Photo by Finn on Unsplash With the mental health of Europeans deteriorating, the European Economic and Social Committee is urging policy-makers at EU and national levels to make it a top priority The Brussels based Committee has called for the reform of health systems across the EU in a bid to ensure a comprehensive approach to mental health…

Environmental Impact of Healthcare

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Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) has launched two new calls for proposals featuring topics on the environmental impacts of healthcare. These concern addressing the use of animals in research and the generation of synthetic health data for research, among other things. IHI is a partnership between the EU and Europe’s health…

Improved Protection for Blood Donors

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Photo by CDC on Unsplash MEPs say they want to reinforce measures to ensure improved protection for citizens that donate blood, tissues or cells, or are treated with these substances. The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) adopted its position on new rules governing the use of so-called substances of human origin (SoHO) in the…

Do Advertising Bans Reduce Alcohol Harm?

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Photo by Kevin Kelly on Unsplash A new report from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) says that although numerous EU member states are imposing stricter limits or outright bans on alcohol advertisements, these restrictions do nearly nothing to lower alcohol consumption levels. Public health campaigners have long insisted that alcohol advertising bans could help reduce sales and, by…

Safeguarding Supplies of Crucial Medicines

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Photo by CDC on Unsplash The EU has moved to ensure that “crucial medicinal products” are available in the future. This comes in the wake of the crippling pandemic that killed tens of thousands of EU citizens and devastated economies throughout Europe. Following recommendations to ensure sufficient supply of antibiotics published earlier this week, the EU Commission, through the European…

The Impact of Glyphosate on Health

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Photo by Kjartan Einarsson on Unsplash A statement published on 6 July by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide on the planet, reportedly does not pose unacceptable risks for human health, despite independent scientific evidence to the contrary. This statement, according to the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), could constitute a…