Beware of Allergy on EAACI Congress 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark

The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) and Asthma-Allergy Denmark are launching an outstanding campaign with a high-impact street action to increase awareness of the burden and seriousness of allergy. Allergy is a public health problem of pandemic proportions that affects more than 150 million people in Europe, where it is the most common chronic disease1. According to experts, 1 out of every 3 children have an allergy and they expect the disease to affect more than 50% of all Europeans in 10 years’ time. Furthermore, up to 1 in 5 allergic people suffer a serious debilitating disease and are in fear of death from a possible asthma attack or anaphylactic shock1. Anaphylaxis is a severe, generalised allergic reaction largely caused by food, drugs and insect bites.

The business of smoking

Countries in the east are increasing production and consumption of cigarettes while western countries are cutting back.

 

Tobacco-quitting cigarettes on World No Tobacco Day 2014

Taiwanese designer Tseng Yi Wen has conceived a series of 4 tobacco-quitting cigarettes aimed to break smoking habits. the concept behind each would make tobacco consumption significantly less, while still allowing for an occasional smoke.

Tobacco-day’ prints the date on every cigarette, reminding the smoker of how many they have consumed, and to limit the allowed number of smokes per month. 

‘could you give me a cigarette?’ is a common question often asked by smokers. yi wen has conceived a single cigarette that is sharable, to be broken into two parts. by dividing the tobacco, you help reduce the other person’s smoking amount, and your own.

 

E-cigarettes on World No Tobacco Day 2014

Refilling e-cigarettes requires the use of liquid nicotine, or “e-liquids,” that can cause adverse reactions such as vomiting, seizures, cardiac problems, and death to both children and adults when absorbed through the skin or ingested.

Widely available online, the concentration of nicotine sold in e-liquids varies from 1.8% up to 10%, which can can be deadly. Experts say children are lured by the bright-colored, sweet-smelling substance. The number of calls to poison control concerning liquid nicotine increased 300% from 2012 to 2013, according to the National Poison Data System.

World No Tobacco Day 2014 is 31 May 2014

For a long time, the tobacco industry has fiercely opposed levies on tobacco products and launched intense campaigns against efforts to raise tobacco taxes, making the fight to curb tobacco use challenging. The reality is that raising taxes on tobacco products is the most effective way to reduce tobacco use, generate revenue for health programs and most importantly, save lives. That’s why the World Health Organization (WHO) is putting tobacco taxes back on the agenda for World No Tobacco Day 2014.

According to WHO estimates, if all countries increased tobacco excise taxes by 50% per pack this would result in 49 million fewer smokers and 11 million lives saved. Plus, governments around the world would earn an extra $101 billion that they could put towards health and social programs.

Raising taxes on tobacco and making tobacco products more expensive is particularly effective in reducing tobacco use in developing countries, where people often do not get adequate treatment if they fall sick from illnesses associated with tobacco use like cancer.

WHO collects and analyzes data of tax prices around the world and tracks best practices. It advises governments on how best to strengthen their tax systems and raise tax rates. We know that some countries are already benefitting from increased tobacco taxes.  Turkey, for example, has steadily increased excise taxes since 2008. Within the following four years, tobacco sales had fallen by 12%. In 2008, 22 countries had tax rates sufficiently high enough to impact consumption. In 2012, that had increased to 32 countries.

The Burden of COPD: Update 2014

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a long-term condition that causes inflammation in the lungs, damaged lung tissue and a narrowing of the airways, making breathing difficult. There are many different types of the condition, although little is known about what causes this variation and the best way to manage the different versions of the disease.

Governments, industry and the general public need to be more aware of the high burden of COPD at the global level
More research is needed on the different variations of COPD and their economic burden on societies 
There is a lack of reliable data on the incidence of COPD – member states should improve reporting

Sleep and Breathing Barcelona 2015

The Sleep and Breathing conference is the largest pan-European meeting of its type and the only meeting offering an integrated approach to the investigation and treatment of sleep disorders.

In Barcelona 2015, the focus remains predominantly on sleep breathing disorders and our programme will cover as well other sleep-related areas of paediatrics, obesity, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, psychology, psychiatry and neurology.

The Sleep and Breathing conference is coming after the great success in Berlin 2013.

 

The aim of the Sleep and Breathing Conference is to support the exchange of knowledge among the international scientific community. Writing an abstract for this conference is an important way for you to communicate your scientific research or clinical practice with your peers.

The conference is organised jointly by the European Respiratory Society and European Sleep Research Society and supported by other leading European societies that recognise the need for a transitional approach to the management of sleep disorders. This innovative, educational programme focuses on sleep and breathing disorders but will also provide significant insights into a wide range of related conditions.

The Sleep and Breathing Conference 2015 is the largest educational event of its kind in Europe and boasts a highly accomplished European faculty.