The Falsified Medicines Directive: improving the safety of EU medicines
By Paola Testori Coggi, Director General for Health and Consumers, European Commission
European citizens are entitled to medicines that are safe, of high quality and effective. Falsified medicines may contain ingredients of low quality or in the wrong dosage – either too high or too low – and therefore pose a major health threat to EU citizens. The Falsified Medicines Directive – which entered into force on 2 January 2013 – makes medicines safer by providing measures to verify their authenticity and improve the quality of their ingredients. The main novelties are three:
First, prescription medicines will need to bear, on their outer packaging, a pack-specific number and an anti-
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'Are medicines with no marketing authorisation illegal?', by Pauline Michel, national winner 2012 for France
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The Call aims at reinforcing public health institutes in low-income countries, in the area of public health decision and policy-making. Partnership with public health institutes and stakeholders is encouraged. Deadline for the concept note submission is 17 March 2014.
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On the occasion of World Cancer Day, the European Commission presents 10 little known facts about EU action in the field of cancer.
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RARHA, funded by the European Union, is a newly-launched 3-year action to support Member States to move forward on common priorities in line with the EU Alcohol Strategy and strengthen Member States’ capacity to reduce the harm associated with alcohol.
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The Healthy Ageing Supported by Internet and Community (HASIC) project has just begun and will run for 30 months with the aim of encouraging elderly people (65+) to adopt a healthy and active lifestyle.
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Stakeholders are invited to send their comments by 31 May 2014.
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The European Commission proposes to combine two separate school schemes under one campaign to 'Eat well – feel good' to help ensure that children develop healthy eating habits.
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Forthcoming events
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A public hearing and a workshop will address the scientific evidence related to the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) preliminary opinion on the potential health effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields.
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A Greek Presidency Conference will look at nutrition and physical activity as health preventive measures throughout the lifespan, as well as examine policies to tackle diet-related NCDS, public health issues, and scientific considerations for formulating EU strategies.
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Reporting from across Europe
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France has just launched its 2014-2019 national plan against cancer, placing the emphasis on prevention and screening and on addressing social imbalances in healthcare.
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Italy encourages the public to take precautions to avoid domestic accidents: there are 2.8 million such accidents a year in Italy, most often involving women.
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The Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality invites kids to visit a virtual amusement park, where they can learn about nutrition, exercise and smart choices.
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In the next issue
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Rare diseases
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