EC Health Council (Hansard, 17 November 1998)

§ Ms Jowell

I attended the meeting of the Health Council on 12 November in Brussels, on behalf of the United Kingdom.

The Council adopted its common position on the Commission's proposal for an injury prevention programme. The Council discussed the development of future public health policy and adopted conclusions which stressed the importance of better prioritisation and co-ordination of public health activities by the Community to complement action taken by the Member States. The Commission reported on progress in combating smoking within the Community and announced that it intended to propose measures on the tar and nicotine content of cigarettes and labelling of packets; it also intended to bring forward measures on smuggling, additives, and the prohibition of "light" and "mild" markings on cigarettes. Conclusions which stressed the need for a more focused approach were adopted on the European Union-United States Task Force. The Council agreed to continue to consider TSEs (Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies) at each meeting and asked the Commission to provide it with a detailed annual report on the issue. The Council noted a progress report on the draft Recommendation on limitation of exposure of the general public to electromagnetic fields. A response to the Commission's report on the revision of the homeopathic medicines Directives was also agreed. The Council welcomed the recommendations of the conference held in Copenhagen on 9-10 September 1998 on "The Microbial Threat". It also discussed co-operation between the European Union and the World Health Organisation. The International Therapeutic Solidarity Fund—a French 566W Government initiative to provide anti-retroviral therapies to people with HIV/AIDS in developing countries—was also discussed. A discussion on the outcome of the conference on "Quality in Health Care" held by the Austrian Presidency on 24 July 1998 was held over lunch.