Search Results for: Environmental health

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AN UNCHARACTERISTIC failure to be punctual is the reason why the German government lost a bid at the European Court of Justice to overturn last year’s European Union directive on tobacco manufacturing and labelling.

Berlin officials had until last October 11 to launch an appeal against the law, which had been published in the EU Official Journal on July 18.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
ROTHMANS, Benson & Hedges Inc. has filed a lawsuit against the Saskatchewan provincial government, arguing that the province’s recent Tobacco Control Act, which bans the display in shops of tobacco products, is unconstitutional under Canadian federal law.

The case filed in the prairie province’s Court of Queen’s Bench, claims that the legislation that came into effect on March 11, 2002, violates Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms and federal tobacco legislation.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE WORLD Health Organisation is advising countries experiencing a rise in resistance amongst malaria mosquitos to conventional medicines, such as chloroquine, to start promoting new combination treatment. These Artemisinin-Based Combination Therapies are derived in part from a Chinese herb, killing malaria parasites very fast, allowing patients to recover rapidly with few side effects.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union has launched a plan to break the World Trade Organisation deadlock over changes to its TRIPS regime (trade related aspects of intellectual property rights), which would allow developing countries to licence imported generic drugs in emergencies, while protecting the global pharmaceutical sector.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AUSTRALIAN officials have been overseeing the slaughter of 250,000 chickens on a large farm in Victoria, because of an outbreak of Newcastle disease. So far, reported the Office International des Epizooties, (zoonoses), health checks on surrounding farms within a 10 km radius had not revealed any signs that the disease has spread.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A STUDY carried out by France’s Grenoble University shows that European consumers are unlikely to be concerned enough about potential health risks to avoid buying clearly labelled GM foods.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), of the United Nations, is promoting the use of so-called International Chemical Safety Cards, which are designed to reduce the risk of industrial accidents in companies using chemicals. Each card summarises essential health and safety information on chemicals for their use at work.*More…

BY DEIRDRE MASON
A GROUNDBREAKING and comprehensive resolution on tourism passed by the EU Council of Ministers last week, which contained a wide range of policy goals and plans for action, has been given a lukewarm welcome by the European travel industry.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A REPORT on the international conventions and European and national laws controlling the use of cannabis as a medicine, has been released by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. The paper offers a legal analysis of the options and limitations of using medicinal cannabis and its derivatives in the EU, as well as noting current practice.…

BY MARK ROWE
BRITISH museums and historic buildings are being encouraged to bid for funding from a GBPounds 80 million financial support package launched by the European Union, designed to build links between neighbouring EU countries.

Its grant awards will be focused on projects that have economic, ecological and social benefits.…