PREVENTIVE-HEALTHCARE
Yesterday, the Platform for Better Preventive Healthcare organised a policy briefing “What are the next steps for the EU addictions policy”, hosted by Czech Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Radka Maxová (Socialists and Democrats). The briefing gathered healthcare experts and political stakeholders to discuss the Report of the Special Committee on Beating Cancer (BECA) adopted last February by the European Parliament. The discussion focused on the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and addictions management.
Recent data shows that the pandemic led to an increase in addictive behaviours related to alcohol, gambling, tobacco and digital addictions among Europeans. Deferring to the best available scientific evidence, the BECA Report acknowledged the importance of harm reduction policies like the use of harm reduction products such as e-cigarettes. The panel discussion echoed the Report’s recommendations and Prof. Viktor Mravčík, Head of Science at the Institute of Rational Addiction Policies stated that “harm reduction is not sufficiently used in tobacco control policies, and further support for it is needed in the form of adequate legislation and promotion of alternative products which are a neglected tool in tobacco cessation discussions.”
The actions proposed by MEPs in the BECA Report in relation to addiction management are crucial to ensure that future health policy is based on science and that it puts the health of European citizens first. MEP Radka Maxova highlighted that “solutions to addictions require a coherent and comprehensive approach at the EU level.”
With the upcoming revision of its tobacco legislation, the European Commission will have an opportunity to acknowledge harm reduction policies as suggested by the European Parliament. Addiction must be dealt with in a rational and scientifically robust way the panel concluded.
About the Platform for Better Preventive Healthcare
The Platform for Better Preventive Healthcare organised by the Institute for Rational Addiction Policies (IRAP) is a multi-disciplinary think-tank of independent and reputable experts. IRAP studies the question of addiction from all sides including public and individual health, legislation and other legal effects, security matters, economics, and market modelling, tax issues, effects on the state budget, education and prevention, and social, sociological, and political questions.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220519005986/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Ahead of Holiday Season, Visa Identifies Five Transformative Forces Reshaping Global Payment Security20.11.2025 19:50:00 CET | Press release
New Biannual Threats Report Reveals Fundamental Shift in Fraud Operations as Criminals Adopt Industrial-Scale Tactics To celebrate International Fraud Awareness Week, Visa (NYSE: V) today released its Fall 2025 Biannual Threats Report, revealing five forces that are transforming the global payments security landscape. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251120412198/en/ The report, produced by Visa's Payment Ecosystem Risk and Control (PERC) team, draws on intelligence from Visa's global network to identify how criminal operations are evolving with unprecedented speed, scale, and sophistication. "The payments ecosystem is experiencing a paradigm shift in how fraud operates," said Paul Fabara, Chief Risk and Client Services Officer at Visa. "Criminals are no longer working as opportunistic individuals-- they're operating like tech startups, building reusable infrastructure and deploying systematic, industrial-scale
Suzano Forms Partnership with Tencent and Ecofuturo Institute at COP30 for AI-Powered Conservation and Nature Education20.11.2025 18:25:00 CET | Press release
New agreement signed at COP30 will see organisations collaborating to use artificial intelligence tools for biodiversity monitoring and digital platforms to boost public engagement in conservation efforts. The world’s largest pulp supplier, Suzano, today announces the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the multinational technology business Tencent and the Brazilian non-profit Ecofuturo Institute, to pioneer new digital approaches to drive public engagement in conservation. The collaboration will leverage Suzano’s expertise in sustainable forestry, Tencent’s cutting-edge digital technology, and Ecofuturo’s expertise in environmental education, to pilot joint initiatives in both Brazil and China. These include enhancing ecological awareness, accelerating biodiversity solutions, and leveraging digital platforms to foster public engagement in conservation. The partnership will result in a pilot project where advanced AI tools for species recognition developed by Tencent’s
EMVCo Working on How Global Specifications Can Support Agentic Payments20.11.2025 17:38:00 CET | Press release
EMVCo – the technical body that creates and manages EMV® Specifications and programmes that enable seamless and secure card-based payments worldwide – has announced that it is working on how global specifications can support innovation in agentic payment solutions by increasing trust and interoperability across the ecosystem. Agentic commerce is rapidly reshaping the shopping experience by enabling AI agents to act on the consumer’s behalf. This is driving significant momentum for agentic payments, which introduce AI agents as new actors that can initiate transactions with merchants – without requiring direct involvement from the consumer. While agentic payments have the potential to increase convenience and personalisation, they present unique considerations for how transactions are initiated, authenticated and secured. As industry adoption and innovation accelerate, a globally interoperable and scalable approach may be beneficial in realising trusted agentic payments for consumers, m
Université Paris-Saclay and Owkin: A Unique Alliance to Propel University Medical Research to the Top of the European Rankings Through AI20.11.2025 15:17:00 CET | Press release
Université Paris-Saclay and Owkin announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding to explore the potential of K Pro Free - Owkin’s AI co-pilot for biology - for use by Paris-Saclay. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251120130113/en/ K Pro Free will now be available to the entire Université Paris-Saclay community, and in particular teachers, researchers and doctoral students working in the biomedical sciences. The partnership includes workshops, training sessions and events designed to promote the discovery and adoption of K Pro Free, as well as the co-organization of communication and dissemination initiatives around the use of AI in health. In this way, the partnership will promote user training, but also enrich and continuously improve the co-pilot's models through feedback and use cases from the l’Université Paris-Saclay community. This partnership is part of Université Paris-Saclay’s strategy to integr
Frasca Advances Flight Training Technology with New Visual System Powered by Unreal Engine20.11.2025 15:05:00 CET | Press release
Frasca International, Inc., a FlightSafety International company and leader in flight simulation, today announced the launch of VITAL FVS 100, the next evolution of its visual system technology. Building on the proven TruVision Global platform, VITAL FVS 100 was developed using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine and delivers unprecedented realism, scalability, and innovation in pilot training. The Unreal-powered VITAL FVS 100 system introduces major advancements in visual fidelity and training realism, further enhancing the capabilities of Frasca, a leading developer of flight simulators and training devices. The new system includes physically based renderings, advanced lighting effects, and a new volumetric cloud model that creates dynamic, weather-rich environments. Terrain imagery now includes one-meter resolution coverage for the contiguous United States and Hawaii, with expanded global datasets covering European buildings and tree covered regions. Additionally, enhanced particle effects re
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom