REHIS News

Scotland’s Chief Statistician has announced the publication of a report on emissions of air pollutants in 2017.

The main findings are:

26 September marked World Environmental Health Day (WEHD) which has been celebrated every year since 2011. 

This year’s theme of “Climate change challenges, time for global Environmental Health to act in unison” aimed to draw attention to the affect’s climate change is having on vulnerable communities and how environmental health professionals play a vital role in protecting communities against the challenges of a variable climate.

Many activities took place around the globe in connection to this big event from Australia to Zimbabwe.

Scotland has become the first country in the UK to ban the sale and manufacture of plastic-stemmed cotton buds as part of attempts to reduce single use plastics.

Most major retailers switched to paper-stemmed buds in the months leading up to the ban following a campaign.

A similar ban - also including plastic coffee stirrers and straws - comes into force in the rest of the UK next year.

Cotton buds are consistently listed in the top 10 forms of beach litter by the Marine Conservation Society. Across the UK, about 1.8 billion of them are sold every year.

The introduction of minimum pricing for alcohol has had a modest economic impact on the drinks industry in Scotland, a report has found.

The report, commissioned by NHS Health Scotland is part of a wide-ranging evaluation of the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 which established Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP).

The Scottish Government has set out a finalised policy of no support for the development of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) sometimes known as “fracking” in Scotland.

This means the Scottish Government will not issue licences for new UOG development, and that Scotland’s planning framework will not support development using unconventional oil and gas extraction techniques, including coal bed methane and hydraulic fracturing.

by Jill Sunter, Health Promotion Officer, Fife Health and Social Care Partnership

Breastfeeding is really important to the health of both mother and baby, yet Scotland has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe. While many new mums start breastfeeding, some will stop within a few months. This is often because they feel there is a lack of support, particularly when they want to feed their baby outside their home. 

Reducing your energy use isn’t just good for our planet, it’s great news for your business’s bottom line too. In fact, advisers from the Scottish Government’s Resource Efficient Scotland programme typically find that by taking action to reduce their energy use, Scottish small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) can easily slash 24% off their energy costs - and there’s never been a better time to act. 

The Scottish Government’s SME Loan Scheme is helping businesses across Scotland to reduce their energy costs and environmental impact.

An analysis on a recent consultation on restricting the promotion and marketing of foods high in fat, sugar, or salt, and have little to no nutritional benefit has been published.  

Following this analysis, the Scottish Government has brought forward the development of the Bill Restricting Foods Promotions in this parliament

Scottish ministers have published draft legislation for the establishment of the Deposit Return Scheme, with an expected start date of 1 April 2021.

The new regulations will see the establishment of a scheme that will include aluminium and steel cans as well as drinks containers made of glass and PET plastic with a 20p deposit.

On the 3 September the Scottish Government announced their programme for the year ahead with the publication of the 2019-20 Programme for Government. Entitled Protecting Scotland’s Future, the programme unveiled 14 new Bills, as well as non-legislative announcements.