All posts tagged: Non Communicable diseases

Belgium to ban flavored vapes from 2028 – POLITICO

Belgium to ban flavored vapes from 2028 – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The measure brings Belgium in line with the Netherlands, which already restricts e-cigarettes to tobacco flavor only. A Dutch study by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) suggests the policy has had an impact: Nearly two-fifths of users cut back, while more than one in five quit entirely. Belgium’s move follows a November 2025 recommendation from its Superior Health Council to sharply reduce allowed flavors, with youth protection taking priority over adult preferences. The ban builds on an earlier crackdown. Belgium was the first EU country to outlaw disposable vapes at the end of 2024 and tightened rules on where smoking and vaping are allowed, part of a broader push toward a smoke-free generation by 2040. Other EU countries followed suit, with Slovenia already adopting a comparable flavor ban in May 2024. Belgium will now notify the European Commission, and aims for the rules to take effect on September 1, 2028. Source link

Alcohol too cheap in Europe as health impact mounts, WHO warns – POLITICO

Alcohol too cheap in Europe as health impact mounts, WHO warns – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

It’s also linked to a wide range of illnesses including cardiovascular disease and depression, all of which are adding pressure to stretched health systems. The WHO said governments should target alcohol consumption to protect people from its ill effects. Increasing the cost of booze through taxes is one of the most effective measures governments can take, the WHO said. Yet, some EU countries have minimal or no taxes on certain types of alcohol. The fact that more than half of EU countries don’t tax wine at all is “unusual” by international standards, WHO economist Anne-Marie Perucic said. She pointed out that the more affordable alcohol is, the more people consume. “Excluding a product is not common. It’s always for political reasons, socio-economic reasons [like] trying to protect the local industry. Clearly, it doesn’t make sense from a health perspective,” Perucic told POLITICO. Those 14 countries span the EU’s northern and central regions, such as Germany, Austria and Bulgaria. “More affordable alcohol drives violence, injuries and disease,” said Etienne Krug, director of the WHO’s department of …

How the EU’s stack of health files was a big win for industry – POLITICO

How the EU’s stack of health files was a big win for industry – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

On Dec. 16 the Commission published its Biotech Act and Safe Hearts Plan, which landed just days after a long-awaited update of the pharmaceutical legislation. Taken together, they seek to incentivize industries to innovate and do business in Europe, improve access to medicines, and tackle the burden of cardiovascular disease. The pharma industry broadly celebrated the biotech proposal. The Biotech Act “reflects priorities we’ve intensively advocated to keep Europe globally competitive in life sciences,” Ognjenka Manojlovic, head of policy at European pharmaceutical company Sanofi, told POLITICO. That includes accelerating clinical trials, boosting intellectual property, and strengthening financing for Europe’s biotech ecosystem, Manojlovic said. The pharmaceutical sector had pushed for longer monopoly rights in the pharma legislation. In the end they were kept at the current standard eight years — instead of being cut by two years as the European Commission had initially proposed. For Europe’s public health insurers, who pay for drugs, the decisions taken to maintain and then extend market protections for medicines are hard to square. “We are puzzled by the Commission’s intentions,” …