REHIS News

Response has been provided to the Scottish Government consultation on Prohibiting Smoking Outside Hospital Buildings.  Details of the consultation can be found here.

Norovirus is a common cause of infectious gastroenteritis that results in diarrhoea and vomiting. As it’s most common during the winter months, norovirus is sometimes known as the winter vomiting bug, but infections can occur at any time of year.

Norovirus is very easily spread from one person to another. Outbreaks of norovirus where more than two people are infected can commonly occur in places where people are in close contact with one another for long periods of time, such as hospitals, care hones, schools and cruise ships.

New EU Official Control regulations came into force across the UK on 14 December 2019. The regulations aim to strengthen public health protection and the integrity of the food and feed chain in the UK.

Labelling food and drinks with how much walking or running is needed to burn them off could help tackle the obesity crisis, researchers say.

While pre-packaged food must display certain nutritional information, such as calorie content, there is limited evidence that the approach changes what people buy or eat. 

Researchers involved in a new study have suggested converting calories into the amount of exercise needed to burn them off – for example, labels explaining that you would need to run for:

·       13 minutes after drinking a 330ml can of fizzy drink

Nearly one in three foodborne outbreaks in the EU in 2018 were caused by Salmonella. This is one of the main findings of the annual report on trends and sources of zoonoses published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

In 2018, EU Member States reported 5,146 foodborne outbreaks affecting 48,365 people.

The Scottish Government are seeking views on a range of issues which may improve the operational effectiveness of the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010.

A UK survey, which analysed both the sugar and calorie content of the largest available sizes of hot chocolates and seasonal lattes made with milk and milk alternatives by popular high street chains, allegedly revealed that certain seasonal beverages contain almost as much sugar as three cans of cola.

NHS Fife has published a report on the health impacts of flaring at the Mossmorran plant.

Scotland’s Chief Statistician has released Diet and Healthy Weight statistics.

This is a compendium publication bringing together data mostly already published by various other sources on obesity, diabetes, diet, healthy living awards and sales of soft drinks, confectionery, biscuits, cakes and pastries.

Main findings

·       In 2018, 65% of adults aged 16 and over were overweight, including 28% who were obese. Levels of overweight and obesity for adults aged 16-64 increased between 1995 and 2008, but have remained broadly stable since then.