Public health: action plan to combat cancer 1996-2000

The Committee on the Environment adopted the report by Mr Valverde LOPEZ on the third action plan (1995-1999) to combat cancer as part of the Community public health programme. The report mainly makes a number of serious improvements to action to combat cancer, including most importantly: - the fact that the main objective of the plan has been redefined as the introduction of a cooperation network between the Commission and the national anti-cancer committees in order to improve coherence between Community action and action in the Member States and to act as a real catalyst for action in the Member States in this area. A new annex along these lines has been added on consultation, participation and coordination mechanisms for the plan, with the Commission to be assisted by a group of experts to advise it on the scientific and technical aspects of the fight against cancer; - the priorities of the plan should be public information and health education (especially for children through a specific schools programme aimed at changing eating habits), primary prevention (e.g. greater familiarity with the European code against cancer), secondary prevention (early diagnosis) and improved dissemination of the results of research. The European Parliament also called for a ban on all types of direct or indirect advertising of tobacco products (and, more importantly, for Directive 89/622 on the labelling of tobacco products to be revised in order to increase the proportion of packaging devoted to health messages to 25%). Finally, amendments were made to the programme's financial statement (indicative programming).�