Archive
International News Services archives articles supplied to clients one year or more after initial publication. These articles are protected by a password and not made available to readers without permission from clients. They are used as a background resource by agency journalists. Upon client requests, International News Services will remove such articles from the archive or not upload them in the first place. They are included to demonstrate the breadth of topics undertaken by the agency and also to help promote clients’ coverage.
BEING OVERWEIGHT IS GOOD FOR YOU SAYS USA GOVERNMENT
BY MONICA DOBIE
OVERWEIGHT people have lower death rates than people who are a normal weight, underweight or obese according to a US federal government agency report.
Researchers from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention found that there were more than 100,000 fewer deaths among the overweight in 2004, than would have been expected if those people had been of normal weight.…
EUROPEAN COMMISSION CONSIDERS TOUGHENING INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION RULES
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is considering proposing binding controls on pollution that can be emitted by industry and agri-business, though a root-and-branch reform of the European Union’s (EU) integrated pollution prevention and control directive. The 1996 legislation insists EU member states create detailed pollution permits for industrial and agri-business installations, but gives governments wide latitude on the strictness of these permits – they must be based on ‘best available techniques’, but analysis can reflect local conditions.…
BRITAIN'S WASTE MANAGEMENT ON PAR WITH EASTERN EUROPE, EEA REPORT SHOWS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE LEVEL of incineration and recycling of municipal waste within Britain is as low as former communist countries in eastern Europe, a new European Environment Agency (EEA) report has concluded. In an assessment of the contrasting waste management practices in the 27 European Union (EU) member states, the EEA bracketed Britain with Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.…
EU STUDY SHOWS CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE FALLS WITH PUBLIC SMOKING BANS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPEAN Union (EU) survey of 62,433 non smokers has indicated that comprehensive public smoking bans significantly reduce their carbon monoxide intake. The mean level of exhaled CO in non-smokers in EU countries without a smoking ban was 5.2 ppm (parts per million), compared to 2.5 ppm in countries with full indoor tobacco bans or other strong tobacco controls.…
EFSA THREATENS NEGATIVE RULINGS ON NUTRIENT ADDITIVES UNLESS MORE INFORMATION IS RELEASED
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has warned that its additives panel may rule around 300 nutrient sources for fortified or enriched food and food supplements are potentially unsafe, unless it is provided with more information. EFSA says current dossiers submitted by manufacturers are incomplete and has asked the UK’s Food Standards Authority for assistance – it has been probing these substances.…
SMOKING STATISTICS SHOW BRITONS MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO ANTI-SMOKING MESSAGES THAN MANY CONTINENTALS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
ENVIRONMENTAL health officers may think there are a lot of smokers in the UK – in 2005, 24% of adults aged 16 or over in Britain smoked cigarettes, but spare a thought for officials in Greece – home of Europe’s keenest smokers.…
WHO OFFERS GOVERNMENTS MODEL TO ASSESS HEALTH TRENDS AMONGST CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A NEW standardised statistical analysis system is now available for public policy makers that help track the impact of environmental change on the health and well-being of children and young people.
Developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), it mirrors a similar system it has long offered governments for assessing the health of adults.…
EU NUTRITIONAL LABELLING LAW BEING DRAFTED BY EUROPEAN COMMISSION
BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Commission officials are drafting a European Union (EU) law which would order compulsory front-of-pack labels, listing the amounts of energy, fat, saturates, sugar and salt in food products sold in all 27 member states. The Commission is expected to table the proposal by the end of the year, for approval by EU ministers and the European Parliament.…
EUROPEAN COMMISSION WANTS DELAY OF EU ELECTROMAGNETISM LAW OVER MEDICAL IMAGING CONCERNS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has asked European Union (EU) ministers to delay for four years the implementation of an agreed EU law protecting all workers against electromagnetic fields because of concerns it will prevent the use of medical imaging.…
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT BACKS EXTENDING EU EMISSIONS TRADING REGIME TO AIR TRANSPORT
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Parliament has approved – in principle – the extension of the European Union’s (EU) greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme to civil aviation. MEPs also passed amendments bringing forward the scheme one year to 2011 for international flights to and from the EU, matching the planned start for trading regarding flights between member states.…