REHIS News

The Northern Centre AGM will be held on 29 September at 12.45am and is preceded by a short seminar on Short Term Lets. For information please contact@rehis.com

Millions of deaths could be avoided if the world adopts tough new air pollution limits set out by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The new Global Air Quality Guidelines calls for much lower daily and annual levels of exposure to six pollutants - particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM₂_.₅), ozone (O₃), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO).

Scottish ‘out of home’ food businesses – including takeaways restaurants and cafes - are being urged to put a stronger focus on calorific content as the industry recovers from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The call comes as latest findings highlight how almost everyone in Scotland last year (98%) was now eating out of their homes at some time.

Folic acid will be added to non-wholemeal wheat flour across the UK to help prevent life-threatening spinal conditions in babies, the government and devolved administrations have announced.

Adding folic acid will mean foods made with flour, such as bread, will actively help avoid around 200 neural tube defects each year – around 20% of the annual UK total.

Adding folic acid to flour across the UK builds on 80 years of fortification and follows consultation with industry, stakeholders and the public. The costs of fortification to industry are expected to be minimal.

Scottish Ministers have announced that a Scottish public inquiry will be established this year to consider Scotland’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.     

An Aims and Principles paper was published on 24 August that forms the basis of the stakeholder engagement, which will shape the Terms of Reference for the inquiry. It is available online at here.   

Scotland’s Climate Week is an annual event, which started in 2016, to help raise awareness of the global climate emergency and celebrate Scotland’s leadership in taking action against climate change.

This year Scotland's Climate Week will mark six weeks to go until the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

Wherever they work, EHOs have the same goal - to improve, protect and maintain public health.  Watch this short video where Professor Jason Leitch talks about the profession and the exciting variety of career options available.  

The Scottish Government have published their ‘Out of Home Action (OOH) Plan which outlines steps to work closely with the food industry to help tackle obesity by providing healthier food and drink choices for people. 

The Plan includes proposals for a code of practice for healthier children’s menus and a commitment to a consultation on mandatory calorie labelling. 

Scottish building regulations set minimum standards applicable to new buildings and to new work to existing buildings.

The Scottish Government’s recent draft Heat in Buildings Strategy sets out their vision for decarbonising heat and reducing energy demand across all buildings in Scotland, setting out the scale of the investment opportunity and supporting our green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) include heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, liver disease and lung disease. In 2020, these diseases were responsible for more than 40,000 deaths in Scotland - that's 62% of all deaths.

Analysis suggests that one in five of these deaths are preventable through public health action. Reducing the consumption of health harming products, like alcohol, tobacco and unhealthy food and drink, is one of the key ways to reduce the number of lives lost to, and affected by, NCDs.