Latest news with #publichealth
Arab News
an hour ago
- Health
- Arab News
France bans smoking in beaches, in parks and bus shelters
PARIS: France will ban smoking on beaches and in parks, public gardens and bus shelters from Sunday, the government decree, published in the official government gazette on Saturday, will also ban smoking outside libraries, swimming pools and schools, and is aimed at protecting children from passive decree did not mention electronic cigarettes. Violaters of the ban will face a fine of 135 euros ($158).'Tobacco must disappear from places where there are children,' Health and Family Minister Catherine Vautrin had said in May, underscoring 'the right of children to breathe pure air.'Cafe terraces are excluded from the 75,000 people are estimated to die from tobacco-related complications each year in to a recent opinion survey, six out of 10 French people (62 percent) favor a smoking ban in public places.
Asharq Al-Awsat
an hour ago
- Health
- Asharq Al-Awsat
France Bans Smoking in Beaches, in Parks and Bus Shelters
France will ban smoking on beaches and in parks, public gardens and bus shelters from Sunday, the government said. The decree, published in the official government gazette Saturday, will also ban smoking outside libraries, swimming pools and schools, and is aimed at protecting children from passive smoking. Health and family minister Catherine Vautrin said in May that tobacco must disappear where there are children. The freedom to smoke "stops where children's right to breathe clean air starts", she said. Offenders face a fine of up to €135 ($154), Vautrin added. The ban will not extend to France's iconic cafe terraces however, the minister said. Electronic cigarettes, which have boomed in France in recent years, are also not covered. An estimated 35 percent of France's population are smokers – higher than the averages for Europe (25 percent) and the world (21 percent), according to the World Health Organization. Around 75,000 people are estimated to die from tobacco-related complications each year in France.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
What's gambling cost? Advocates slam political inaction
Australia risks losing a whole generation of kids to gambling, as criticisms are levelled at the government for failing to implement reforms from a landmark report two years on. The "You win some, you lose more" parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and its impacts, chaired by fierce gambling reform advocate the late Peta Murphy MP, delivered 31 recommendations in 2023. The unanimously supported proposals focused on reducing harm, protecting children and applying a long-overdue public health approach to gambling in this country. But two years to the day, gambling reform advocates, health bodies and church groups say the federal government have been silent. More than 80 per cent of Australians want a gambling advertisement ban, and parents are sick of turning on the TV only to find their 10-year-olds discussing the game in terms of odds, Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said. "Smoking is legal, but kids shouldn't be seeing it. Same with gambling. People can gamble, but there's grooming of kids," Rev Costello told AAP. "We now have, with the two-year implementation (delay), a whole generation of kids who only think of NRL and AFL in terms of odds." Gambling harms lead to suicides, one-in-four 18-to-24-year-old young men are addicted, 600,000 underage Australians gambled last year, and domestic violence spikes threefold if there is gambling in a family, Rev Costello said. "This industry has been treated as having a normal social license when it's actually pushing very addictive products," he said. "We have literally given our kids over to sports betting companies as fodder for their profits." Vested interests, including the AFL and NRL, sports betting companies, and the commercial broadcasting networks, had stalled reforms, Rev Costello said. The nation's peak body for doctors, the Australian Medical Association, is demanding the government immediately action all 31 recommendations, accusing it of exposing millions of Australians to predatory betting companies. "Every day of delay means more Australians fall victim to an industry that profits from harm and despair," AMA President Danielle McMullen said. Wesley Mission chief executive Stu Cameron expressed deep disappointment in the government's failure to act on a bipartisan road map to tackle gambling harm. "Two years on, the silence from Canberra is deafening," Rev Cameron said. "While the government hesitates, lives are being torn apart." The three say the government must use their parliamentary mandate to make systematic reforms, including banning gambling ads, implementing a national regulator and treating gambling as a health issue. A spokesman for Communications Minister Anika Wells said she has had several meetings with harm reduction advocates, broadcasters and sporting codes. He said the government had delivered "some of the most significant gambling harm reduction measures in Australian history", pointing to mandatory ID verification and banning credit cards for online gambling and launching BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register. Australians top the list for the world's highest gambling losses, placing $244.3 billion in bets every year. National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
CTV News
6 hours ago
- Health
- CTV News
Toronto Public Health seeking person who came in contact with bat that may have rabies
FILE -Toronto Public Health's offices at Dundas and Victoria St. in Toronto on Monday, August 21, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston Toronto Public Health (TPH) is looking for a person who came in contact with a bat that may have rabies earlier this week. TPH says it has learned about an injured bat exhibiting symptoms of rabies and that the animal was physically handled at the north entrance to 88-100 Harbour St. on Wednesday around 9:24 p.m. 'Rabies is a viral infection that affects the nervous system of mammals including humans. Rabies can lead to death if it is left untreated before symptoms appear,' TPH says. The virus is spread through the saliva of an infected animal. The person is believed to be standing at five-foot-eight with a beard and was seen wearing eyeglasses, a black T-shirt, black pants and white sneakers. TPH says the person was also holding a black water bottle. The local health unit is urging the person to immediately call 416-338-7600 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday or 311 after hours. TPH says the person should ask to speak to the healthy environments manager on call.
CTV News
10 hours ago
- Health
- CTV News
N.B. premier says Horizon didn't follow directive to consult with nurses on staffing changes
N.B. Premier Susan Holt says Horizon Health staff positions won't change until employees have their say. New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says the Horizon Health Network must step up its consultations with nurses, one day after announcing 'a stop' within the health authority on potential changes to mental and public health staffing. 'How do we make public health better? How do we make addictions and mental health better? The people on the front lines have the clearest view to that, and that engagement hasn't happened yet,' said Holt in an interview Friday. On Wednesday, Horizon Health officials met with nurses to discuss what it called 'a transformation' of how public health, mental health and addiction services would be delivered by the health authority. Premier Holt said the provincial government didn't give Horizon officials approval to outline the plan as it did to nurses, calling it 'unexpected.' 'I believe Horizon told registered nurses in public health, mental health, and addictions that they would be replaced by licensed practical nurses over the next one to two years. So, it's that act that is going to stop,' said Holt. 'That plan, to do that full scale replacement, is going to stop.' Horizon didn't respond to a request for comment on Friday. On Thursday, the health authority scheduled a media availability on the topic before it was cancelled an hour beforehand. Horizon later released a statement saying it was 'committed to engaging in ongoing, two-way dialogue with our staff and all relevant stakeholders.' The topic first came to light in the provincial legislature last month, when interim Progressive Conservative Leader Glen Savoie said some nurses had been given ultimatums to either accept new roles or face potential layoffs. Previously, both Premier Holt and Health Minister Dr. John Dornan have said their objective to move some nurses to 'the right place' wouldn't result in layoffs. Paula Doucet, president of the New Brunswick Nurses Union, said Holt's decision to pause the plan was 'the right call.' 'Consultation with stakeholders should've taken place long before Wednesday,' said Doucet. 'You don't take a philosophical idea and try to implement that without meaningful conservation and back-and-forth dialogue.' Susan Holt New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt speaks with reporters in Doaktown. (Source: Nick Moore/CTV News Atlantic) For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
