The Dutch government plans to hold so-called smoke-free cigarettes to the same rules that apply to ordinary tobacco products. State Secretary Paul Blokhuis of Public Health is implementing an age limit and a ban on advertising on these products, NU.nl reports.
"Around this type of product is often the image that they are a smart alternative to ordinary smoking", Blokhuis said. According to him, that idea is misplaced, "because you can become mortally ill of it."
The Netherlands is immediately withdrawing from an international committee that gives the tobacco industry advice on measuring nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide in their products, according to newspaper Trouw.
The national institute for public health RIVM and the Dutch food and consumer product safety authority NVWA believe that the tobacco industry has too much influence on the committee, and therefore decided to withdraw. According to the newspaper, eight of the 10 members in the Dutch committee come from the tobacco industry.
Easter bonfires are causing an increased concentration in particulate matter in the air in some parts of the Netherlands, particularly in Overijssel and Achterhoek. "Especially people with lung diseases such as asthma and COPD, and (older) people with cardiovascular disease may suffer", public health institute RIVM warns, NOS reports.
According to the RIVM, the problem lies in the calm weather with not much wind. As a result, smoke and particulate matter can remain in place for a long time. The institute warns people to avoid the smoke as much as possible.
A high level of air pollutants triggered a Friday smog warning for the Netherlands, with possibility of "insufficient" air quality over the weekend. Air quality in the Randstad municipalities and in the south of the Netherlands was expected to be "poor", the Dutch health authority RIVM said in a statement.
The majority of children under the age of 13 in the Netherlands eat less fruit, vegetables and fish than the Nutrition Center recommends, according to a health survey by Statistics Netherlands in collaboration with the RIVM and the Nutrition Center. In the period between 2014 and 2016 less than four in ten children ate enough fruit, just over four in ten ate enough vegetables, and little more than half ate enough fish.
The health survey is annually conducted among around 1,100 children. Researchers question the kids' parents about the food they eat.
Traces of the potentially carcinogenic substance GenX were found in the tap water of The Hague, Zoetermeer and Leiden, water company Dunea announced on Tuesday. The company stresses that the concentrations are very low and that the drinking water is still safe, AD reports.
Dementia is expected to be the main cause of death for people in the Netherlands by 2040. In the next 23 years the number of dementia related deaths will grow from 14 thousand to 40 thousand, according to a new study published by public health institute RIVM on Wednesday, ANP report.
The increase in dementia related deaths can be attributed to the aging population. Dementia is a collective name for over 50 age related diseases, including Alzheimer's. It is possible to live with dementia for several years, but patients gradually weaken. There is currently no cure.
More and more people are diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease in the Netherlands, according to a report by national health service RIVM. The number of gonorrhea and syphilis diagnoses increased significantly among gay men last year. Chlamydia is the most common STD among women and heterosexual men. HIV positive diagnoses decreased.
A total of 143,139 people went to a Sexual Health Center to be tested for a STD last year, 5 percent more than in 2015. And 18.4 percent of them were indeed diagnosed with a STD, compared to 17.2 percent the year before.
Summer temperatures of up to 33 degrees expected in the Netherlands this week triggered national health institute RIVM to issue a heat warning for most of the Netherlands. The heat warning is in effect for the seven provinces in central and southern Netherlands between Monday and Thursday, NU.nl reports.
Half of the people living in the Netherlands are overweight or obese, according to the newest health monitor by Statistics Netherlands, and health institutes RIVM and GGD. Among people over the age of 65, two thirds are too heavy, De Stenter reports.
People with a body mass index (bmi) of 25 or more are considered overweight. People with a bmi of 30 or more are considered obese. 14 percent of adults in the Netherlands are obese.
Dutch climate change professor Guus Velders was named as one of the most influential people on the planet in the Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential list. He is the only Dutch person to make it onto the list.
Dutch health institute RIVM is launching a large, long-term study on the effect noise from traffic has on the development of children. The RIVM will follow thousands of kids and their development from pregnancy to adulthood, AD reports.
So far the Ministry of Defense paid out more than 2.1 million euros to 309 employees and former employees who became ill after working with paint containing carcinogenic substance Chromium-6, a Defense spokesperson confirmed to NU.nl.
Small amounts of radioactive iodine-131 found in the air above Norway, Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, France and Spain last month raised concerns across Europe. But there is no trace of the radioactive substance in the Netherlands, Dutch national health institute RIVM announced after taking careful measurements, ANP reports.
Rubber granules used in artificial turf may have detrimental health effects after all, according to a study by the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam which will be presented on Zembla on Wednesday. National health institute RIVM stresses that it is too early to draw conclusions from the study, ANP reports.
Two safe, albeit more expensive, alternatives for potentially carcinogenic rubber granules used in artificial turf were already available from two internationally operating companies in October 2015, the Volkskrant reports based on its own research.
Eating less meat and drinking less alcohol and soft drinks will not only benefit Dutch people's health, but also the environment, the national institute for public health and environment RIVM said in a report on Tuesday, the Volkskrant reports.
Athletic events played on artificial turf mixed with rubber granules in the Netherlands does not significantly increase exposure to carcinogenic chemicals, states an unreleased report by Dutch health authority RIVM, according to the Telegraaf. Still, the agency recommends a wider scale international study of the rubber granules, often made by recycling automotive tires, as regulations governing the practice are inconsistent from country to country.
A 9-year-old girl from Blakel nearly died of the swine flu virus H1N1 in early November, the national institute for public health RIVM reported on its website. The girl made a full recovery, Eindhovens Dagblad reports.
The girl was in a pigsty shortly before falling ill. There were no other reported cases of the virus.
Dutch national health institute RIVM is turning its attention on people who do not vaccinate their children. The institute launched an additional training program for peadiatricians and is making 2 million euros available for longer conversations with parents to ease their conserns about vaccinations, the Volkskrant reports.
No hazardous substances were released in the fire that started in wax factory Koster Keunen in Bladel on Thursday night, the police said on Friday. Loca residents were evacuated and spent the night in a hotel, Omroep Brabant reports.
The fire in industrial park De Sleutel on Raambrug is still burning. Firefighters are keeping it under control, but is letting the building burn. The presence of so much natural wax means that extinguishing it makes no sense. A number of companies on the terrain will not open on Friday.
Large discounts on beer attract young people and problem drinkers, according to the Dutch Institute for Alcohol Policy STAP. This in turn leads to an increase in alcoholism and crime, according to the institute. STAP is calling for the introduction of a minimum price for alcohol, RTL Nieuws reports.
To support this call, STAp has six recent studies that shows that setting a minimum price on alcohol is the best solution.
Many rubber mats used on playgrounds are made of recycled tires and may therefore also contain too many dangerous chemicals, two professors of toxicology said to BNR.
Weight loss food supplements and teas of the brands Emtea, Irem Natural and Niva Detox may contain substances also present in medicines and may therefore have serious side effects, the Dutch food and product safety authority NVWA warns.
