	Issue 1 , September 2007
	In this edition Welcome News from the EU Reporting from across Europe EU Press Releases Forthcoming Events New Publications What's New on Health-EU Focus
		Subscribe Previous editions Submit events About Health-EU

Welcome

Welcome to the first edition of the Health-EU newsletter!

From Commissioner Kyprianou, Commissioner for Health

The internet is used more and more by people as a source of information for their own health. Last year nearly half of all people in the EU used the internet regularly and, according to Eurobarometer surveys, most internet users browse the net when they have a health concern. In 2006 we launched the Public Health Portal to provide high-quality, user-friendly information on health to citizens. Building on this, the Health-EU newsletter will allow readers to receive the latest news and developments on health from a range of sources across Europe in all European languages.

We encourage readers to be involved in the newsletter. Not least, it helps to ensure that health policies at European level are shaped in partnership with citizens and stakeholders. To promote this, we will include in each edition a particular topic of interest, centred on a European health day. September 14 is European Prostate Awareness Day – and we have provided useful links to relevant activities on this important area and on men's health generally. Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer among older men, with considerable differences in mortality rates across Europe. Indeed, in general life expectancy for men is lower than for women across Europe for a number of reasons, social and health determinants operate in different ways for women and men and side effects of treatment often differ as well. The EU Health Programme is one means to support the exchange of best practice in gender specific health promotion and prevention, and I am pleased that the text of the new health programme for 2008-2013 explicitly identifies gender-related issues as a priority area for action.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the Health–EU newsletter and wish you happy reading.

News from the EU

Bringing the results of the Scientific Committees closer to the public

The Commission provides here summaries of the most relevant scientific opinions in a format and language which can be easily understood by non-specialists.

Gripenet: an internet-based system to monitor influenza-like illness uniformly across Europe

Gripenet has been monitoring the activity of influenza-like-illness (ILI) with the aid of volunteers via the internet in the Netherlands and Belgium since 2003 and in Portugal since 2005.

Reporting from across Europe

Sweden

Party model

Party Model is a new interactive site from Sweden targeting teenagers and party goers on alcohol

Portugal

Educational games for the young with health and environment content

EU Press Releases

Commission and UEFA kick off football season with joint TV campaign promoting physical activity

Avian Influenza: Highly pathogenic H5N1 virus confirmed in Bavaria

Forthcoming Events

European Union Conference on Research on Rare Diseases (13 September 2007)

The aim of the event is to increase the visibility of rare diseases research and raise awareness within the 27 EU Member States and the European Parliament of the research needs in this area.

Joining forces across Europe for prevention and promotion in mental health (13-15 September 2007)

The conference aims to share examples, barriers and opportunities encountered throughout Europe in implementing prevention and promotion action for mental health.

5th Biennial World Congress on Men’s Health and Gender (21- 23 September 2007)

This congress is intended for clinicians and researchers from the areas of Urology, Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, Psychiatry, Endocrinology and Family Medicine.

New Publications

New brochure: "Healthier together in the EU"

The brochure gives an overview of what the EU does to help us enjoy longer and healthier lives and shows the real benefits of action at European level. It also presents a summary of the main facts, objectives and results of EU action

What's New on Health-EU

New lay language summaries of scientific opinions on sunbeds and nanotechnologies

Focus

Men's Health

European Prostate Awareness Day (14 September 2007)

Activities at EU level

Health-EU - Cancer

Health-EU - Men

News

Key topics of the Prostate Awareness Day

To mark the "Prostate Diseases Day" for 2007, national urological societies across Europe are trying to promote awareness of prostate diseases among Europeans.

In this edition