Eurobrief 2
February 2008
CONTENTS
Information to patients: consultation on policy proposals
Cross border patient mobility: proposals delayed once more
Call for proposals: EU Public Health programme
EU Health Commissioner to resign
New food labelling proposals
The dangers of smokeless tobacco
Improving awareness about Europe’s single emergency telephone number
MEPs call for EU cancer task force
European Rare Disease Day
Reimbursement of the cost of hospital care received abroad – new court case
Information to patients: consultation on policy proposals
The European Commission is preparing a legal proposal on information to patients which will form part of an overarching pharmaceutical legislative package to be released in late 2008. The preliminary proposal, currently open to public consultation, would maintain the current ban on the advertising of prescription-only pharmaceutical drugs. However it would provide European rules to harmonise the provision of information to patients across the EU. This information would be monitored by national co-regulatory bodies under the guidance of an EU Advisory Committee. The proposals aim to create a clear distinction between advertising and information and suggest that all information must conform to a set of agreed quality criteria.
The BMA is currently drafting a response to the consultation. Please send any comments to the BMA Brussels Office by 17 March. The consultation can be read at the below website:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/pharmaceuticals/pharmacos/docs/doc2008/2008_02/info_to_patients_consult_200802.pdf
Cross border patient mobility: proposals delayed once more
The long awaited European Commission proposals on cross border patient mobility have once more been delayed. The proposals were due to be published in early February but the increasing controversy surrounding leaked drafts have led to speculation that the Commission may abandon or seriously dilute the proposals. The Commission may chose to simply publish an interpretive communication on the European Court of Justice rulings on patient mobility instead of releasing legislative proposals. The next announcement is now expected on 2 April following a meeting of the European Commission.
Call for proposals: EU Public Health programme
The European Commission has published the 2008 call for proposals under the EU Public Health funding programme. The total budget for 2008 is €46.6 million with a maximum Community co-financing of 60%.There are a number of priority areas for the call, including:
Improving the health security of citizens (climate change, disease prevention, terrorism, influenza, safety of organs)
Promoting health (reducing inequalities, alcohol, nutrition, tobacco, drugs, rare diseases, young people, support to NGOs, mental and sexual health, e-Health)
The deadline for submissions is 23 May 2008. For full details of the call, see the below website:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:056:0036:0062:EN:PDF
EU Health Commissioner to resign
Markos Kyprianou, EU Health Commissioner, has announced his resignation following the general election in Cyprus. Mr Kyprianou will leave his EU post in order to take up the position of Cypriot Foreign Minister. Ms Androulla Vassiliou will become the new Cypriot Commissioner. A cabinet reshuffle may be likely as Mr Kyprianou is the second EU Commissioner to resign this month.
New food labelling proposals
The European Commission has adopted new proposals requiring all pre-packaged food to display key health and nutritional information clearly on the front of the package. If adopted, the new directive would introduce:
- Mandatory labelling on the front of the pack for a set of nutrients including energy, fat, carbohydrates, sugars and salt
- A minimum font size of 3mm for the lettering on the package
- Mandatory guideline daily amounts (GDAs) giving the average requirements for men and women
The dangers of smokeless tobacco
The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) has published a report on the health effects and addiction potential of smokeless tobacco. According to the report, smokeless tobacco is addictive and withdrawal symptoms are broadly similar to those seen in smokers. Smokeless tobacco products contain various levels of toxic substances and these products are carcinogenic to humans. The Committee also stated that on the available evidence it is not possible to draw conclusions as to the relative effectiveness of smokeless tobacco as an aid to smoking cessation in comparison with established therapies. The report can be read at:
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_o_013.pdf
Improving awareness about Europe’s single emergency telephone number
A recent EU-wide survey has found that only 22% of EU citizens could spontaneously identify 112 as the number to call for emergency services anywhere in the EU. The telephone number has existed since 2003 and all calls made to this number, whether on fixed or mobile telephones anywhere in Europe, will automatically be routed to the emergency services in the country from which the call is made. The European Commission is calling on member states to publicise this number, especially for people travelling between EU countries.
MEPs call for EU cancer task force
The European Parliament public health committee has called on the Commission to establish an EU cancer task force to provide leadership for improved prevention, screening and treatment of cancer. MEPs adopted the resolution which urges member states to implement statutory cancer registration and ensure capacity for population-based evaluation of programmes for prevention, screening, treatment and survival. The resolution can be read at the below website:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2004_2009/documents/re/697/697649/697649en.pdf
European Rare Disease Day
The first annual European Rare Disease Day took place on 29 February. The event aimed to raise awareness of rare diseases. The official website can be viewed below:
http://www.rarediseaseday.org/
A public hearing on rare diseases will take place in the European Parliament on 4 March.
Reimbursement of the cost of hospital care received abroad – new court case
The European Commission has referred Spain to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over the Spanish authorities’ refusal to grant additional reimbursement of the costs incurred for hospital care required during a temporary stay in another member state. The Commission argues that this refusal goes against past rights granted under the 1998 Vanbraeckel case. In this judgment, the Court ruled that reimbursement should be at least the same as that which would have been granted to the patient if he had received hospital treatment in the member state in which he is insured.
The Commission takes the view that the judgment in the Vanbraeckel case must also apply where a tourist, student or any other person temporarily residing in the territory of another member state requires hospital treatment. It considers that European citizens must enjoy the same rights whether they are authorised to undergo hospital treatment in another member state or are hospitalised during a temporary stay in another member state.