The health and safety at work inspectorate published a performance report detailing the work that it had overseen during 2006 to reduce work-related fatalities, injuries, and illness.
Source: Measuring Up Performance Report 2006, Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books (01787 881165)
Links: Report | HSE press release | IOSH press release
Date: 2006-Dec
A study examined the perspectives of a range of industry and non-industry stakeholders on the policy of treating the drinks industry as a key partner in preventing alcohol problems and reducing levels of harm. Many of those outside the industry were sceptical about its social responsibility initiatives, and argued that it could do more to change marketing practices, improve product development, and shape the drinking environment.
Source: Rob Baggott, Alcohol Strategy and the Drinks Industry: A partnership for prevention?, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report | JRF Findings
Date: 2006-Dec
The health and safety at work inspectorate said that the number of working days lost due to work-related injury and ill-health fell to 30 million in 2005-06, down from 40 million in the baseline period 2000-2002.
Source: Health and Safety Statistics 2005/06, Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books (01787 881165)
Links: Report | HSE press release | DWP press release | TUC press release | Personnel Today report
Date: 2006-Nov
A report provided information about smoking and drinking based on data collected by the General Household Survey in 2005.
Source: Eileen Goddard, Smoking and Drinking Among Adults, 2005, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: Report | ONS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Nov
A report used data sources that were available at the local and national level to estimate the prevalence of problem drug misuse. Two methods were used to arrive at the estimates: the 'capture-recapture' method, and the 'multiple indicator' method.
Source: Nicola Singleton, Rosemary Murray and Louise Tinsley, Measuring Different Aspects of Problem Drug Use: Methodological developments, Online Report 16/06, Home Office (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Nov
A report provided the first comprehensive regional comparison of sexual health in England. Over 70 indicators were included on a range of topics including: abortions; conceptions and births to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections; access to family planning clinics; and information about lifestyles and attitudes.
Source: Wendi Slater (ed.), Indications of Public Health in the English Regions 6: Sexual Health, Association of Public Health Observatories (0191 3340398) and Health Protection Agency
Date: 2006-Nov
A survey examined the early effects of new licensing laws. Around 3,000 licensed premises held 24-hour licences - less than 2 per cent of the total. There was no evidence of a move to a new standard closing time - approximately one-fifth of pubs, bars and clubs closed by 11pm at the latest, and around four-fifths by 1am at the latest. There had been around 600 completed licensing reviews, and approximately 100 licences had been revoked as a result.
Source: Press release 23 November 2006, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (020 7211 6200)
Links: DCMS press release | Survey report | LGA press release | IAS press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Nov
The proportion of men in Great Britain exceeding the government s daily sensible drinking benchmarks fell from 39 per cent in 2004 to 35 per cent in 2005.
Source: Deborah Lader and Eileen Goddard, Drinking: Adults Behaviour and Knowledge in 2006, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: Report | ONS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Nov
A report prepared for the Scottish Executive examined the links between transport and health at policy and practice levels.
Source: Steer Davies Gleave with Tom Rye and Dermot Gorman, Joined Up Policy and Practice in Health and Transport, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Date: 2006-Nov
The alcohol-related death rate increased from 6.9 per 100,000 population in 1991 to 12.9 in 2005.
Source: Press release 7 November 2006, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: ONS press release | Charts | BBC report
Date: 2006-Nov
A new book examined the major theoretical questions, themes, and policy debates surrounding illicit drug use.
Source: Mark Simpson, Tracy Shildrick and Robert MacDonald, Drugs in Britain: Supply, consumption and control, Palgrave Macmillan (01256 329242)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Nov
An article reported a survey of 2,665 men attending a sexual health clinic, which found that 10 per cent (267) reported having had paid sex. It said that routine questions about commercial sexual contacts could allow targeted health promotion and harm minimization for this group of men and their partners.
Source: Tamsin Groom and Rak Nandwani, 'Characteristics of men who pay for sex: a UK sexual health clinic survey', Sexually Transmitted Infections, Volume 82 Issue 5
Links: Abstract | BBC report
Date: 2006-Oct
Two linked surveys examined the impact of environment on mental health. Nearly a third of people (29 per cent) who had recently stayed in mental health wards were dissatisfied with their ward s state of repair, and 28 per cent were unhappy about ward cleanliness. Workplace stress was the second biggest occupational health problem, and the office environment was a key factor.
Source: Building Solutions: Improving Mental Healthcare Environments, Mind (020 8519 2122) | , Building Solutions: Improving Office Environments,
Links: Report 1 | Report 2 | Mind press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Oct
Deaths in England and Wales during the winter period of 2005-06 exceeded the average for the non-winter period by 25,700, according to provisional estimates. This was a fall of 19 per cent compared with the winter of 2004-05.
Source: Press release 27 October 2006, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: ONS press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Oct
A statistical bulletin examined the extent of illicit drug use among people aged 16-59 in England and Wales in 2005-06, and trends in drug use since 1998. Among young people aged 16-24 use of any illicit drug decreased, and 'class A' drug use remained stable.
Source: Stephen Roe and Louise Man, Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the 2005/06 British Crime Survey, Statistical Bulletin 15/06, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Bulletin
Date: 2006-Oct
A study found that tax incentives for employers intended to encourage workplace health initiatives that would reduce absence from work were not being widely taken up. The incentives had the potential to save the economy £13.2 billion per annum.
Source: Edward Bramley-Harker, Gordon Hughes and Joshua Farahnik, Sharing the Costs ? Reaping the Benefits: Incentivising return to work initiatives, NERA Economic Consulting (020 7659 8500)
Links: Report | Personnel Today report
Date: 2006-Oct
A report (by an official advisory body) said that the growing demand for risk to be 'purged from our lives' was a driver of seemingly ever-expanding regulation. Society needed to be more willing to live with risk, and understand it better, if red tape were not to stifle innovation and self-reliance.
Source: Risk, Responsibility and Regulation: Whose risk is it anyway?, Better Regulation Commission (020 7276 2142)
Links: Report | BRC press release
Date: 2006-Oct
A new book examined the complexity of neighbourhood effects on health. It looked at the inter-relationships between neighbourhood change, the emergence of states of health, and policy interventions managed using performance indicators; and it considered the practical relevance of complexity theory to public policy.
Source: Tim Blackman, Placing Health: Neighbourhood renewal, health improvement and complexity, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Oct
The government launched a three-year initiative on mental health in the workplace, designed to get employers to sign up to a set of anti-stigma principles - for example, making changes in the work environment and employment practices, so that people with mental health problems were treated fairly, and equally with others. Just 20 per cent of those with severe mental health problems had jobs, compared with 65 per cent who had physical problems.
Source: Action on Stigma: Promoting mental health, ending discrimination at work, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report | DH press release | MHF press release | DRC press release | Rethink press release | Community Care report | Personnel Today report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Oct
A new book examined the effects of drug use on family dynamics and relationships, including possible social and emotional costs. Existing service provision, in treating the problem drug-user in isolation, failed to address the needs of drug-affected families, and missed the opportunity to develop family-oriented support and treatment.
Source: Marina Barnard, Drug Addiction and Families, Jessica Kingsley Publishers (020 7833 2307)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Oct
A report said that Sheffield s 'decent homes' programme (the largest of its kind in the country) would have a major impact on the health and quality of life of residents reducing heart and respiratory disease, reducing the number of accidents in the home, and giving greater security and mental well-being.
Source: Jan Gilbertson, Geoff Green and David Ormandy, Decent Homes, Better Health, Centre for Regional, Economic and Social Research/Sheffield Hallam University (0114 225 3073)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Sep
An article examined the extent to which time and place affected people's health. There was modest evidence of clustering of poor general health within areas, and stronger support for within-household similarities in general health, which increased over time. Individual, household, and area-level deprivation accounted for almost all the area-level variability, but had little effect on household variance.
Source: Amanda Sacker, Richard Wiggins and Mel Bartley, 'Time and place: putting individual health into context - a multilevel analysis of the British Household Panel Survey, 1991 2001', Health and Place, Volume 12 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Sep
A report examined existing evidence on health, work, and well-being; identified key areas for future research; and explored potential interventions to improve workplace health from the perspective of employers, employees, and those out of employment.
Source: Tom Cox and Craig Jackson, Health and Well-being of Working Age People, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report | ESRC press release
Date: 2006-Sep
A survey examined the health problems of homeless people. It was found that 2 in 3 had physical health problems, and 1 in 3 had a condition relating to sleeping rough.
Source: S.O.S. - Sick of Suffering, St. Mungo's (020 8600 3003)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Sep
A report examined the impact of bad housing on children's life chances. It said the 'housing effect' meant that children growing up in bad housing had up to a 25 per cent higher risk of severe ill-health and disability during childhood and early adulthood. Homeless children were up to four times more likely to suffer mental health problems than other children. Offending behaviour might also be linked to behavioural problems that emerged among children living in poor housing conditions.
Source: Lisa Harker, Chance of a Lifetime: The impact of bad housing on children s lives, Shelter (020 7505 4699)
Links: Report | Shelter press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Sep
An annual report provided an account of living conditions in England in 2004, including progress made since 1996 and 2001. Since 1996 the number of non-decent homes had been reduced by almost a third, from 9.1 million to 6.3 million in 2004.
Source: English House Condition Survey: 2004 Annual Report, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report | Summary | DCLG press release
Date: 2006-Sep
An article examined housing-related difficulties, the relationship with housing tenure, and the subsequent influences on health status in a population sample of older people in Wales. Those in public rented properties experienced the most difficulties and the poorest health.
Source: Gillian Windle, Vanessa Burholt and Rhiannon Edwards, 'Housing related difficulties, housing tenure and variations in health status: evidence from older people in Wales', Health and Place, Volume 12 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Sep
An advisory body report examined the hazardous use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs by young people. It said that good parenting and stable family life could reduce the risks to young people. Additional measures were needed to reduce the overall consumption of alcohol. There should be a careful reassessment of the role of schools in drug misuse prevention: the emphasis should be on providing all pupils with accurate, credible, and consistent information about the hazards of all drugs.
Source: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, Pathways to Problems: Hazardous use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs by young people in the UK and its implications for policy, Home Office (020 7035 0459)
Links: Report | DEF press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Times report
Date: 2006-Sep
In 2005-06, 212 people were fatally injured at work, a reduction from 223 in 2004-05. The rate was the lowest on record, at a rate of 0.71 fatalities per 100,000 workers.
Source: Statistics of Fatal Injuries 2005-06, Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books (01787 881165)
Links: Report | HSE press release | DWP press release
Date: 2006-Aug
A report said that around 2 million workers suffered from ill-health which they believed was caused or made worse by work. Musculo-skeletal disorders were the biggest cause of work-related ill-health, followed by work-related stress. Occupations suffering above-average rates for work-related illness included health and social welfare, teaching and research professionals, and skilled construction and building trades.
Source: J. Jones, C. Huxtable and J. Hodgson, Self-reported Work-related Illness in 2004-05: Results from the Labour Force Survey, Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books (01787 881165)
Links: Report | HSE press release | Personnel Today report
Date: 2006-Aug
Smoking prevalence for adults in England in 2004 was 25 per cent (26 per cent of men and 23 per cent of women). There was a decrease in smoking prevalence from 39 per cent in 1980 to 26 per cent in 1994, before a rise to 28 per cent in 1998. Prevalence had been steadily falling since then.
Source: Statistics on Smoking: England, 2006, NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre (0845 300 6016)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Aug
An article examined trends in deaths related to drug misuse in England and Wales from 1993 to 2004, looking particularly at the period between 1999 and 2004, for which there was a government target to reduce these deaths by 20 per cent. Although there was an overall decline in deaths related to drug misuse between 1999 and 2004, the percentage reduction, at 9 per cent, was less than the government target.
Source: Oliver Morgan et al., 'Trends in deaths related to drug misuse in England and Wales, 1993 2004', Health Statistics Quarterly 31, Autumn 2006, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article | ONS press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Aug
A report forecast what levels of obesity in England might be in 2010, if existing trends in obesity prevalence continued unchanged. More than 12 million adults could be obese by 2010, including nearly a third of all men.
Source: Paola Zaninotto, Heather Wardle, Emmanuel Stamatakis, Jennifer Mindell and Jenny Head, Forecasting Obesity to 2010, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report | DH press release | NCC press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Aug
The results were published from the second year of the Welsh Health Survey (October 2004 to September 2005). The survey looked at health status, health-related lifestyle, and health service use. 28 per cent of adults reported that they smoked. On days when they drank, 39 per cent of adults reported that they usually drank more than the 'sensible' drinking guidelines; and 19 per cent of adults reported binge drinking on at least one day in the previous week.
Source: Welsh Health Survey 2004/05, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report | WAG press release
Date: 2006-Aug
A survey found that (in England in 2005) 22 per cent of children aged 11-15 had drunk alcohol in the previous week, 11 per cent had taken drugs in the previous month, and 9 per cent were regular smokers (smoked at least one cigarette a week). The 2005 results were broadly similar to those in previous years.
Source: Elizabeth Fuller (ed.), Drug Use, Smoking and Drinking among Young People in England in 2005, NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre (0845 300 6016)
Links: Report | DEF press release
Date: 2006-Aug
A taskgroup of local councils monitoring the impact of the Licensing Act concluded that the laws were starting to have a beneficial impact on residents, police, and local councils.
Source: Scrutiny Council Initiative: Final Report, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (020 7211 6200)
Links: Report | DCMS press release
Date: 2006-Jul
A report examined how former drug misusers understood potential and actual links between their early life experience and subsequent problematic drug use. It said that young people should be educated about the potential dangers of drug use by local ex-drug misusers, rather than outsiders with little understanding of local residents lives. A related article used a life-story approach to examine how early childhood experiences could be understood as a precursor to drug misuse, and the forces that enabled people to transform their habits and lives.
Source: Kim Etherington and Emma Barnes, The Southmead Project (SP): Practices and processes, University of Bristol (0117 928 9000) | Kim Etherington, 'Understanding drug misuse and changing identities: a life story approach', Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, Volume 13 Number 3
Links: Report | Bristol University press release | GSE press release | Article
Date: 2006-Jul
A think-tank report called for a radical overhaul of drugs policy, including a new approach to drugs classification, and compulsory drugs treatment for addicts involved in crime.
Source: John Mann MP, The Real Deal: Drugs policy that works, Fabian Society (020 7227 4900)
Links: Fabian Society press release
Date: 2006-Jul
The alcohol-related death rate in the United Kingdom increased from 6.9 per 100,000 population in 1991 to 13.0 in 2004.
Source: Press release 18 July 2006, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: ONS press release | RCP press release
Date: 2006-Jul
A report by a committee of MPs said that the designation of drugs in classes 'A', 'B' and 'C' should be replaced with one more closely reflecting the harm they caused. Including alcohol and tobacco in the classification would give the public a better sense of the relative harms involved.
Source: Drug Classification: Making a hash of it?, Fifth Report (Session 2005-06), HC 1031, House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Drugscope press release | TDPF press release | Rethink press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jul
An article examined the effect of ill-health on retirement decisions. Using a range of econometric techniques, it showed that adverse shocks to individual health stocks predicted individual retirement behaviour among workers aged from 50 until state pension age.
Source: Richard Disney, Carl Emmerson and Matthew Wakefield, 'Ill health and retirement in Britain: a panel data-based analysis', Journal of Health Economics, Volume 25 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jul
A report examined the expectations and experiences of gay men and bisexual men who believed themselves to be HIV-negative. It looked at how their social and sexual relationships with men with diagnosed HIV influenced their perception of HIV risk, expectations of positive disclosure, and the sex they had.
Source: Peter Keogh, Laurie Henderson, Catherine Dodds and Gary Hammond, Morality, Responsibility and Risk: Gay men and proximity to HIV, Sigma Research (020 7737 6223)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jul
An article said that most of the substantial social inequalities in adult male mortality during the 1990s were due to the effects of smoking. Widespread cessation of smoking could eventually halve the absolute differences between these social strata in the risk of premature death.
Source: Prabhat Jha et al., 'Social inequalities in male mortality, and in male mortality from smoking: indirect estimation from national death rates in England and Wales, Poland, and North America', The Lancet, 29 July 2006
Links: Abstract | BBC report
Date: 2006-Jul
The health and safety at work inspectorate published its annual report for 2005-06.
Source: Health and Safety Commission Annual Report and the Health and Safety Commission/Executive Accounts 2005/06, HC 1115, Health and Safety Executive, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jul
A report presented data on health-related behaviour among young people aged 10-15.
Source: Young People into 2006, Schools Health Education Unit (01392 667272)
Links: SHEU press release
Date: 2006-Jun
An article examined the relationship between perceived neighbourhood environment, social contact and support, and the health of older people. Perceptions of good-quality facilities in the area, high levels of neighbourliness, and perceptions of problems in the area (such as noise or crime), were all predictive of poorer health.
Source: Ann Bowling, Julie Barber, Richard Morris and Shah Ebrahim, 'Do perceptions of neighbourhood environment influence health? Baseline findings from a British survey of aging', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Volume 60 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jun
A trade union report said that, according to previously unpublished figures obtained from the Health and Safety Executive, visits to firms by safety inspectors dropped by over a quarter between 2002-03 and 2004-05 - from over 74,000 a year to barely 55,000. Over same period, the number of employer convictions for safety crimes fell from 887 to 673.
Source: Press release 19 May 2006, Trades Union Congress (020 7467 1294)
Links: TUC press release
Date: 2006-May
A survey of sickness absence trends in manufacturing companies found a clear link between significant investment in occupational health and reduced short-term and long-term absence rates, as well as improved employee welfare.
Source: Press release 15 May 2006, Engineering Employers Federation (020 7222 7777)
Links: EEF press release | Personnel Today report
Date: 2006-May
A report said that drug consumption rooms offered a "unique and promising way" to help lessen fatal overdoses, as well as to take drug use off the streets and reduce numbers of discarded needles in public places. (Drug consumption rooms are places where dependent drug users are allowed to inject drugs in supervised, hygienic conditions.)
Source: The Report of the Independent Working Group on Drug Consumption Rooms, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report | Background papers | JRF press release | Drugscope press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-May
A report provided headline results, from a worker's perspective, on the management of health and safety in workplaces. The report focused particularly on numbers exposed to different workplace hazards and workers' concerns, training levels, and view of trends in risk. Just over a fifth of workers were concerned about work-related stress.
Source: J. Hodgson et al., Workplace Health and Safety Survey Programme: 2005 Worker Survey - First Findings Report, Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books (01787 881165)
Links: Report | HSE press release
Date: 2006-May
The Law Lords ruled that damages awards to the relatives of employees who contracted cancer after working with asbestos should be limited in cases where the employees had worked for several employers, none of which could be specifically blamed for the onset of the disease.
Source: Barker v St Gobain Pipelines, Murray v British Shipbuilders, and Patterson v Smiths Dock (Conjoined Appeals), UKHL 20 (Session 2005-06), House of Lords Judicial Office (020 7219 3111)
Links: Text of judgement | TUC press release | Personnel Today report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-May
The health and safety at work watchdog began consultation on how to encourage, improve, and increase worker involvement in health and safety risk-management.
Source: Improving Worker Involvement Improving Health and Safety, Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books (01787 881165)
Links: Report | HSE press release
Date: 2006-Apr
A new book examined the links between drugs and social policy. It assessed policies and political responses, and the ways in which drugs policy was formulated and implemented in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Source: Paul Higate, Rhidian Hughes and Rachel Lart (eds.), Drugs: Policy and Politics, Open University Press (01280 823388)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Apr
A survey found that around a quarter of children in England aged 11-15 were classified as obese in 2004.
Source: Health Survey for England 2004: Updating of trend tables to include childhood obesity data, NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre (0845 300 6016)
Links: Tables | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Apr
In 2005 the number of injecting drug users in England and Wales infected with HIV reached its highest level since 1992.
Source: Press release 16 March 2006, Health Protection Agency (020 7339 1300)
Links: HPA press release
Date: 2006-Mar
The results were published of a survey of over 9,000 secondary schoolchildren aged 11-15 in England in the autumn term of 2005, focusing on prevalence of smoking, drinking, and drug use. Around 20 per cent had tried drugs in the previous year, similar to the percentage in previous surveys in 2003 and 2004.
Source: Drug Use, Smoking and Drinking Among Young People in England in 2005, NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre (0845 300 6016) and Home Office
Links: Report | HSCIC press release | Drugscope press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Mar
An article reported the findings from a study that estimated the number of problematic and injecting drug users for all drug action teams in England for 2001.
Source: Martin Frisher, Heath Heatlie and Mathew Hickman, 'Prevalence of problematic and injecting drug use for Drug Action Team areas in England', Journal of Public Health, Volume 28 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Mar
The government published its response to the third annual report from the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV.
Source: Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV: DH Response to the Third Annual Report, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Date: 2006-Mar
A review of tertiary-level evidence published between January 2002 and September 2004 focused on what works' to prevent and/or reduce illicit drug use among young people aged between 7 and 25 years old.
Source: Yuko McGrath, Harry Sumnall, Jim McVeigh and Mark Bellis, Drug Use Prevention Among Young People: A review of reviews, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (0870 121 4194)
Date: 2006-Feb
An audit report said that without clearer leadership from government departments there was a risk that the target to halt the rise in obesity in children under 11 would not be met.
Source: Tackling Child Obesity First Steps, HC 801 (Session 2005-06), National Audit Office with Audit Commission and Commission for Healthcare Inspection, from TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | NAO press release | DH press release | Barnardo's press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Feb
An annual statistical report provided an overview of health and healthcare issues.
Source: Myer Glickman, Tania Corbin, Maria Tortoriello and Tim Devis, United Kingdom Health Statistics: 2006 Edition, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: Report | ONS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Feb
A report highlighted failings in local sexual health services in England, despite a clear national focus and additional funding being made available for service improvements.
Source: Disturbing Symptoms 4: How primary care trusts managed sexual health and HIV in 2005 and how specialist clinicians viewed their progress, Terrence Higgins Trust (020 7831 0330), British Association of Sexual Health and HIV, British HIV Association, and Providers of AIDS Care and Treatment
Links: Report | THT press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Feb
The government announced, following a review, that it would not reverse the decision (made in 2004) to downgrade cannabis to a 'class C' drug. Psychiatrists expressed concern at the announcement.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Debate 19 January 2006, columns 982-998, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Further Consideration of the Classification of Cannabis under The Misuse Of Drugs Act 1971, Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs/Home Office | Press release 19 January 2006, Royal College of Psychiatrists (020 7235 2351)
Links: Hansard | Report | DrugScope press release | RCPsych press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2006-Jan
A report highlighted specific households that were particularly vulnerable to fire: they included households containing a smoker; the lowest-income households; young households (aged 16-24); and those where householders expressed dissatisfaction with their accommodation or local area.
Source: Fires in the Home: Findings from the 2004/05 Survey of English Housing, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report | ODPM press release
Date: 2006-Jan
An annual report provided a comprehensive review of statistics on the prevalence of drug use, of developments in prevention and treatment, and of the evidence on wider social effects.
Source: Gail Eaton, Michela Morleo, Alan Lodwick, Mark Bellis and Jim McVeigh, United Kingdom Drug Situation: Annual report to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) 2005, Reitox National Focal Point (Department of Health and Centre for Public Health/Liverpool John Moores University) (0151 231 4510)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jan
A study reportedly found that, if existing drinking patterns continued, around 90,800 people would die within a decade from alcohol-related causes.
Source: Martin Plant, Patrick Miller and Nikki Coghill, Future Proof: Can we afford the cost of drinking too much? – Alcohol consumption, mortality, morbidity and drink-driving, Alcohol and Health Research Unit/University of West of England
Links: Summary | UWE press release | BLT press release | Telegraph report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jan
An article examined social and demographic predictors of debt problems; whether debt problems tended to occur in combination with other problems; and which people tended to experience long- rather than short-term debt. Being in receipt of benefits, and long-term illness or disability, were the strongest predictors of debt, with long-term ill or disabled respondents also being more susceptible to long-term debt.
Source: Nigel Balmer, Pascoe Pleasence, Alexy Buck and Heather Walker, 'Worried sick: the experience of debt problems and their relationship with health, illness and disability', Social Policy and Society, Volume 5 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jan
An article said (based on a cohort study of British civil service employees) that adverse changes in the psycho-social work environment could lead to increased rates of sickness absence.
Source: Jenny Head et al., 'Influence of change in psychosocial work characteristics on sickness absence: the Whitehall II study', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Volume 60 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jan
The government began consultation on an action plan to tackle stigma and discrimination associated with HIV infection.
Source: Department of Health Action Plan: HIV Related Stigma and Discrimination, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Consultation document
Date: 2006-Jan
Researchers said that mortality from drink-related liver disease had soared during the 1980s and 1990s: rates for men doubled in Scotland, and rose by two-thirds in England and Wales. Those for women went up by about half in the same period.
Source: The Guardian, 6 January 2006
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jan
A report highlighted the marketing techniques used by companies to promote unhealthy food to children.
Source: Marketing of Foods to Children, Consumers' Association (020 7770 7000)
Links: Report | Food Commission press release
Date: 2006-Jan
