public health

In an interview on TV3's Els Matins, the Catalan government's health minister Josep Maria Argimon explained that they are preparing a regulation to ban smoking on bar terraces and make them "smoke-free spaces". They are also considering adding canopies and the entrances and exits of schools to the ban.

Last week saw the conclusion of the XL Annual Meeting of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology under the theme: "Challenges of the 21st Century: Environment, Climate Change and Social Inequalities". Climate change is the most important environmental challenge with an impact on public health facing society today. It is also a social challenge, as it further accentuates inequalities and inequities in health.

Using data from the UK Biobank, where black tea consumption is common, researchers have examined whether its intake is associated with a lower risk of mortality. Participants who reported drinking two or more cups a day had a 9-13% lower mortality risk compared to non-tea drinkers. The results are published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

In summer it is more difficult to keep food at the optimum temperature to prevent the development of micro-organisms. Cooking and storing what we eat properly are some of the keys to avoiding food-borne illnesses.

Today the World Health Organisation declared smallpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The move was announced at a press conference by its director general, Tedros Adhanom, despite a lack of consensus in the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee.

Worldwide, 236,000 people die each year from unintentional drowning in aquatic environments. In Spain alone, 260 people died as a result in 2021. To raise awareness of this problem, the UN General Assembly declared 25 July as World Drowning Prevention Day.

The high temperatures have led to an increase in cases of heat stroke, a serious disorder that requires urgent medical attention.

A study published today in The Lancet claims that there are no benefits to alcohol consumption for young people between the ages of 15 and 39. However, the authors claim that in adults over the age of 40 consuming a small amount may confer some health benefits.

In recent weeks, several countries have detected unusually severe cases of hepatitis of unknown origin in healthy children. Some of the patients have required transplantation and at least one of them has died. Researchers are working on several hypotheses around an adenovirus, but the matter is still shrouded in uncertainty.