Czechs drop surgery requirement for gender change
PRAGUE, June 26 (Reuters) - Czech transgender people will no longer be required to undergo a surgery but will need to be diagnosed as transsexual by specialist doctors and complete observation lasting usually six to 12 months to complete their transition, according to the Health Ministry's new guidelines.
The guidelines issued on Thursday put in practice a Constitutional Court ruling, which last year struck down the surgery requirement.
The ruling, which said the practice violated transgender people's rights for physical integrity and human dignity, moved the central European country in line with most European Union members and was welcomed by human rights activists.
The decision struck down affected parts of the relevant law but did not replace it. The methodology issued on Thursday seeks to clarify the situation and give guidelines to medical professionals, the ministry said.
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Sky News
36 minutes ago
- Sky News
Supermarkets being told to cut shoppers' calories in obesity crackdown is not 'nanny statism', says Streeting
The health secretary has told Sky News the government's plans to tackle obesity by introducing a health food standard for supermarkets are a "world-first approach" and not "nanny statism". As part of an initiative aimed at taking some pressure off the NHS, food retailers and manufacturers will "make the healthy choice the easy choice" for customers in the UK, which has the third-highest adult obesity levels in Europe. Supermarkets will be required to report sales data and those that fail to hit targets could face financial penalties, suggested Nesta, the innovation agency which initially developed the policy. Speaking on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Wes Streeting said: "Instead of traditional nanny statism, where we regulate more heavily on price or marketing on what's sold, we're taking a world-first approach, which is working with supermarkets using data they already collect about the nutritional value of their shopping baskets and shopping trolleys, the average shop. "We're going to work with them to reduce the amount of unhealthy food in trolleys and baskets by setting targets on the healthy value of your shopping trolleys and baskets." He said if obese people cut their calorie intake "by about 216 calories a day - the equivalent of a bottle of fizzy coke, we'd halve obesity". "We've got one in five kids leaving primary school with obesity, it's costing the NHS £11bn a year, and obesity has doubled since the 1990s," he added. He also said: "If we reduce calorie intake in this country by just 50 calories a day, that would lift 340,000 children out of obesity." Mr Streeting said supermarkets will decide through the combination of where they put their products, how they do price promotions, and what products they choose to put on the shelves. "They will work with us to make sure that we nudge people in the right direction, without any of us even noticing," he added. 2:40 Businesses will be free to choose how to implement the new healthy food standard, which aims to make their customers' average shopping healthier. Measures could include reformulating products and tweaking recipes, changing shop layouts, offering discounts on healthy foods, or changing loyalty schemes to promote healthier options. Obesity is one of the root causes of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The new scheme, announced on Sunday by the Department for Health and Social Care, is part of the forthcoming 10-Year Health Plan, through which the government is seeking to shift from sickness to prevention to alleviate the burden on the NHS. 1:22 An 'important step' Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK's chief executive, said: "Businesses can play a major role in supporting people to make healthy choices, and this important step could help to reduce rising obesity rates. "Being overweight or obese is the second biggest cause of cancer in the UK, and is linked with 13 different types of the disease. "The UK government must introduce further bold preventative policies in both the upcoming 10-year Health Plan and National Cancer Plan, so that more lives can be saved from cancer." Some of the UK's biggest supermarkets appear to have reacted positively to plans for a new standard of healthy food, with Ken Murphy, Tesco Group CEO, saying: "All food businesses have a critical part to play in providing good quality, affordable and healthy food. "At Tesco, we have measured and published our own healthier food sales for a number of years now - we believe it is key to more evidence-led policy and better-targeted health interventions. "That's why we have called for mandatory reporting for all supermarkets and major food businesses and why we welcome the government's announcement on this. "We look forward to working with them on the detail of the Healthy Food Standard and its implementation by all relevant food businesses." Simon Roberts, chief executive of Sainsbury's, said: "We're passionate about making good food joyful, accessible and affordable for everyone and have been championing the need for mandatory health reporting, across the food industry for many years. "Today's announcement from government is an important and positive step forward in helping the nation to eat well. "We need a level playing field across the entirety of our food sector for these actions to have a real and lasting impact."
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
France implements smoking ban at beaches and parks in step towards ‘tobacco-free generation'
Anyone who lights up on a beach or in a public park in France will be breaking the law from Sunday under new rules aimed at protecting children from the dangers of passive smoking. Bus shelters and areas in the immediate vicinity of libraries, swimming pools and schools will also be affected by the ban, which is coming into force one day after its publication in the official government gazette on Saturday. The rule is being imposed one week before the beginning of the school holidays in France in a bid to immediately protect children from smoke on the beach. However, to the disappointment of some anti-tobacco activists, the ban does not cover the terraces of bars and restaurants where many French still happily smoke. They are also unhappy that the ban does not apply to electronic cigarettes. The rules had initially been expected to come into force on Tuesday after a previous announcement by the health ministry but the publication in the official gazette means this has now been brought forward to Sunday. People should also not smoke within 10 metres of schools, swimming pools, libraries and other places where smoking could hurt minors. The health ministry said it would soon reveal the sign used to designate such areas. Violators of the ban could face a fine of 135 euros ($160) up to a maximum of 700 euros. 'Tobacco must disappear from places where there are children. A park, a beach, a school – these are places to play, learn, and breathe. Not for smoking,' health and family minister Catherine Vautrin said. This is another step 'towards a tobacco-free generation', she added, which France is targeting from 2032. Yves Martinet, president of the National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT), said the ban was 'a step in the right direction, but remains insufficient', criticising the continued permission to smoke on cafe terraces. 'The minister points to the protection of children,' but children 'also go to the terraces', said Martinet, who is a pulmonologist. He lamented the absence of e-cigarettes from the text, saying flavours are used to 'hook young people'. But Frank Delvau, president of the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries (UMIH) for the Paris region, said a ban on smoking on cafe terraces 'would only shift the problem because people on terraces would go smoke next to these establishments'. Franck Trouet, of the hospitality association Hotels and Restaurants of France (GHR), said 'smokers and non-smokers can coexist' on terraces, the 'last places of conviviality and freedom'. In France, passive exposure to tobacco smoke causes 3,000 to 5,000 deaths per year, according to official figures. Smoking is steadily declining in France with 'the lowest prevalence ever recorded since 2000', according to France addiction agency the OFDT. Less than a quarter of adults aged 18 to 75 reported smoking daily in 2023, according to the agency. Smoking causes 75,000 deaths per year in France and, again according to the OFDT, costs society 156bn euros annually, counting factors including lost lives, quality of life, productivity, prevention, law enforcement and healthcare. According to a recent opinion survey, 62% of French people favour a smoking ban in public places.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Supermarkets told to play a bigger role in NHS fight against obesity
New government plans propose fining supermarkets and takeaways that fail to sell healthier food, as part of a 10-year NHS strategy to tackle the obesity epidemic. Under the policy, large businesses will be required to report their sales of healthy food, with targets set to increase these sales and financial penalties used as a last resort for non-compliance. Health secretary Wes Streeting warned that unless the rising costs and demand caused by obesity are curbed, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable. The initiative allows retailers flexibility to meet targets through methods like tweaking recipes, offering discounts on healthy items, or redesigning store layouts. The UK has the third highest adult obesity rate in Europe, costing the NHS £11.4 billion annually, though some critics, like Tory shadow paymaster general Richard Holden, dismiss the plans as 'nanny state nonsense'.
