Introduction: Mental health and human rights: social policy and sociological perspectives

Recognition of the effects of social, economic, political and cultural conditions on mental health and the personal, social and economic costs of a growing global mental health crisis (WHO, 2001; EC, 2005) mean that mental health and well-being are a current feature of social policy agendas at UK, European and world levels, with debate increasingly becoming framed in human rights terms. In the UK, policy drives to address social exclusion and health inequalities as key social and economic rights issues have encompassed attention to mental health and distress (DoH, 2003; Social Exclusion Unit, 2004) and mental health has been identified as a priority area for the new Equality and Human Rights Commission (Diamond, 2007; DRC, 2007). At the European level too, rights-based social policy approaches to promoting social cohesion (European Committee for Social Cohesion, 2004) and policy directives on the ‘right to health’ (Commission of the European Communities, 2007) have been centrally concerned with mental health and well-being, and have been accompanied by a European strategy on mental health for the EU (EC, 2005). At a global level, the World Health Organisation has declared enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health to be a fundamental human right (WHO, 2006). It has launched a new appeal on mental health which draws attention to the impact of human rights violations and cites social isolation, poor quality of life, stigma and discrimination as central issues for those with mental health needs (Dhanda and Narayan, 2007; Horton, 2007; WHO, 2007)

Fraudulent Contracting of Work: Abusing Traineeship Status (Austria, Finland, Spain and UK)

[Eurofound) In recent years, traineeships have become an important entry point into the labour market for young people across Europe. As outlined in a Flash Eurobarometer report (European Commission, 2013a), more young people report having done a traineeship (46%) than an apprenticeship or student job (both 26%). The report also shows that traineeships particularly apply to those aged between 25 and 29 (50%) but also those aged 30–34 (43%), with traineeships being more common among those who have graduated from university. However, European and national stakeholders express growing concern regarding abuses of the system, poor working conditions and fraudulent practices, including the replacement of regular workers with trainees. A European Commission proposal for a quality framework for traineeships noted evidence of traineeships providing insufficient learning content (for example, trainees being asked to carry out menial tasks) and offering inadequate working conditions, with long working hours, unsatisfactory coverage in terms of health and safety and occupational risks, and little or no remuneration or compensation (European Commission, 2013b)

Comparing alcohol taxation across the European Union

Background and Aims The World Health Organization recommends increasing alcohol taxes as a ‘best‐buy’ approach to reducing alcohol consumption and improving population health. Alcohol may be taxed based on sales value, product volume or alcohol content; however, duty structures and rates vary, both among countries and between beverage types. From a public health perspective, the best duty structure links taxation level to alcohol content, keeps pace with inflation and avoids substantial disparities between different beverage types. This data note compares current alcohol duty structures and levels throughout the 28 European Union (EU) Member States and how these vary by alcohol content, and also considers implications for public health. Design and Setting Descriptive analysis using administrative data, European Union, July 2018. Measurements Beverage‐specific alcohol duty rates per UK alcohol unit (8 g ethanol) in pounds sterling at a range of different alcoholic strengths. Findings Only 50% of Member States levy any duty on wine and several levy duty on spirits and beer at or close to the EU minimum level. There is at least a 10‐fold difference in the effective duty rate per unit between the highest‐ and lowest‐duty countries for each beverage type. Duty rates for beer and spirits stay constant with strength in the majority of countries, while rates for wine and cider generally fall as strength increases. Duty rates are generally higher for spirits than other beverage types and are generally lowest in eastern Europe and highest in Finland, Sweden, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Conclusions Different European Union countries enact very different alcohol taxation policies, despite a partially restrictive legal framework. There is only limited evidence that alcohol duties are designed to minimize public health harms by ensuring that drinks containing more alcohol are taxed at higher rates. Instead, tax rates appear to reflect national alcohol production and consumption patterns

Herbal medicine : a legal perspective

Although within the European Union, herbal medicines are considered as alternative medicines or are used in adjunct therapies; their use is considered as an important component of the European health care system. This is due to the fact that herbal medicine forms part of the European tradition. In spite of the diversity of options between Member States, herbal medicines used in different therapies should be made available to all European citizens. However, although the efficacy of certain medicines is rather disputable, the European Commission aims at safeguarding the European consumer by ensuring that these medicines are safe and of an adequate quality.peer-reviewe

The health hazards of unemployment and poor education: the socioeconomic determinants of health duration in the European Union

The effect of socioeconomic status on the likelihood that an individual enters a period of poor health is examined using an Accelerated Failure Time methodology. This study employs data from the European Community Household Panel for the years 1994-2002 across 13 European countries, using the Physical and Mental Health Problems, Illnesses and Disabilities measure of physical health. Some socioeconomic status indicators do impact on the length of time an individual remains in good health – these being unemployment, which has a negative effect, and education, which has a positive effect – but others, such as income, have far less of an impact. Age and gender effects are also found.European Commission, Fifth Framework Programme “Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources” (contract number: QLRT-2001-02292)

Tobacco Taxation in the European Union

Later this year, the European Commission has to submit a report to the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament with its views on tobacco tax policy in the EU. A 2004 publication issued by the Commission expressed the beliefs that tobacco consumption should be controlled by increasing tobacco excises and that harmonization should proceed on the basis of specific rates. This article reviews and evaluates EU tobacco tax policies. It supports the move towards specific taxation, but notes that there are conceptual and empirical limits to excessively high tobacco taxes. Smokers appear to pay their way and cigarette smuggling is a growing menace to health and revenue objectives.tobacco taxation, European Union

What role for health in the new Commission? EPC Policy Brief 4 February 2020

The Juncker Presidency came to an end two months ago, giving experts the chance to analyse the achievements of EU action in the field of health over the past five years and speculate on what Europe’s health policy will look like in the future. Despite little space for manoeuvre, the past European Commission mandate did gain some significant wins. Nevertheless, more efforts are needed if Europe is to tackle the unprecedented challenges affecting people’s health, such as demographic changes, environmental degradation and the rapidly changing world of work

Tobacco taxation in the European Union

Later this year, the European Commission has to submit a report to the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament with its views on tobacco tax policy in the EU. A 2004 publication issued by the Commission expressed the beliefs that tobacco consumption should be controlled by increasing tobacco excises and that harmonisation should proceed on the basis of specific rates. This paper reviews and evaluates EU tobacco tax policies. It supports the move towards specific taxation, but notes that there are conceptual and empirical limits to excessively high tobacco taxes. Smokers appear to pay their way and cigarette smuggling is a growing menace to health and revenue objectives.

European Hospital Survey: Benchmarking deployment of e-Health services (2012–2013) Composite Indicators on eHealth Deployment and on Availability & Use of eHealth functionalities.

eHealth has been on the European Commission Information Society's policy agenda for more than a decade, from the eEurope initiative(European Commission 1999) to the i2010 Strategy(European Commission 2005), and most recently the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE)(European Commission 2010), eHealth was also one of the Lead Market Initiatives in 2007. Today it is the focus of one of the two first pilots under the EU2020 Strategy and its Innovation Union flagship initiative – the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. The key strategic orientations of the European Commission eHealth policy are defined in the eHealth Action Plan 2012-2020 where eHealth is referred to as "the application of information and communications technologies across the whole range of functions that affect the health sector and including products, systems and services that go beyond simply Internet-based applications"(European Commission 2004).JRC.J.3-Information Societ

Microbial ligand costimulation drives neutrophilic steroid-refractory asthma

Funding: The authors thank the Wellcome Trust (102705) and the Universities of Aberdeen and Cape Town for funding. This research was also supported, in part, by National Institutes of Health GM53522 and GM083016 to DLW. KF and BNL are funded by the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, BNL is the recipient of an European Research Commission consolidator grant and participates in the European Union FP7 programs EUBIOPRED and MedALL. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD