Thanks to advances in technology, the ubiquitous smartphone is not just a way to connect with friends. It also becomes a kind of “doctor in our pocket”. Health apps, wearable sensors and fitness trackers are all contributing towards ‘more and better data’ for monitoring everything from caloric intake to steps taken on a daily basis. If we want to better understand, manage, and prevent chronic diseases, then new technologies and innovations like these are vital. Read more [...]
Alberto Alemanno, professor of law at French business school HEC Paris, shares his views on the more practical solutions available for the prevention of chronic diseases. He reveals that the solutions to such a complex problem are multiple and need to be combined to be effective. Read more [...]
Although several European countries, starting with Denmark, have started a battle against trans-fats in process food, the European Commission is dragging its feet to regulate on the matter. As food-related matters are about to take centre stage during Christmas and other end-of-the-year celebrations, EuroScientist looks at what is happening behind the scenes. As more and more stakeholders in the food sector are gradually signing up to reducing the use of partially hydrogenated plant oils in their products, the delays in taking regulatory action appear to be attributable to more than mere bureaucratic inertia. Read more [...]
Mindfulness is credited with helping people undergo an inner transformation, which could help bring about change in the world. In an opinion piece, former British MP, Chris Ruane, talks about the recommendation of a new UK report, called Mindful Nation, to ensure that the mental health benefits of mindfulness can be brought to areas as diverse as education, health, criminal justice and the work place. He also shares his vision on how this practice could be extended at EU-wide level, with further adoption by MPs and MEPs across the political sprectrum. Read more [...]
In this investigative piece of pan-European journalism, EuroScientist focuses on a case study showing how an evidence-based approach could inform policies that are better suited to protect EU citizens. In this article, we focus on the case of the steel industry. It appears to have managed to render ineffective in protecting the health of EU citizens a 2010 Directive regulating industrial emissions, due to come into force in 2016. The piece reveals how decision-making mechanisms have ultimately been dampened down by many lobbying and political compromises. As a result, industry has been left to decide which tests are to be implemented to control harmful emissions, without the obligation of implementing what available evidence considers the most effective technology. Read more [...]
In this issue, EuroScientist is venturing into exploring policy issues, which have implications for individuals in society. Specifically, this special issue focuses on the interplay between science and policy making when dealing with substance addiction. We Read more [...]
In the past, policy makers assumed that governments could only change behaviours through rules and regulations. now they are designing programmes that reflect how people really act, as a means to induce behavioural change. The ‘nudge’ theory opens the way for nuanced and pragmatic harm reduction policies, argues Alberto Alemanno, who is Jean Monnet Professor of EU Law and Risk Regulation at the Paris School for Business and Management, France. Read more [...]
Drugs are a modern plague. It is difficult to develop effective policies and programmes based on objective evidence. Indeed,the evidence base for prevention programmes is rather patchy. Françoise Dubois-Arber, from the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (IUSMP) at Lausanne University Hospital, in Switzerland, shares her views on what works and what does not, when it comes to drug prevention programmes. Read more [...]
Alcohol is addictive. Global action to reduce harmful use is already underway. But governments still struggle to implement effective policies against drink abuse.It now imperative that policy-makers appreciate the complex individual, societal and cultural factors that affect their work. Marjana Martinic, deputy president at the International Center for Alcohol Policies, Washington, D.C. USA, shares her views on how diverse interventions have been tested and are likely to be appropriate and enjoy public support. Read more [...]
E-cigarettes have great potential for helping to quit smoking, so we should avoid laws that hinder smokers from switching to less harmful alternatives. Read more [...]
Philosophical puzzles apply in public health too. In addiction, there is a subtle balance between the rights and responsibilities of the individual and the State. Particularly, when it comes to intervening in the lives of people addicted to substances such as tobacco, alcohol, or illegal drugs. Here, Julian Kinderlerer, professor of intellectual property law at Cape Town University, South Africa, who is also president of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE), outlines all the facets of the ethical dilemma associated with State intervention towards addiction, and places the role of scientists and ethicists in informing a balanced debate. Read more [...]
The Snowden fallout it far from being over. One of its consequences is the European Parliament’s text for upcoming Data Protection legislation. The draft proposal has resulted in some of the largest, most prestigious, non-commercial research organisations in Europe being up in arms. They warn that the EU is set to strangle health-saving research. In this feature article, EuroScientist investigates what could be the possible consequences, should the legislation does not make suitable exception to allow research of potential future societal value and privacy at all costs becomes the new rule. Read more [...]
European science conversations by the community, for the community
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