EUROPEAN PARTNERSHIP AGAINST CANCER

At the end of June 2009 the European Commission announced its willingness to fight cancer by creating a European partnership to fight cancer. Partnership focus on the actions to be taken at EU level for more effective prevention and control of cancer in Europe.

Historically, preventive measures, mainly confined to the problems associated with the style of life, namely, smoking or alcohol consumption. However, many environmental factors, including exposure to hazardous chemicals, pesticides and air pollution also contribute to the increase in the number of cancers. Reducing the impact of these risk factors can be achieved through changes in policy.

For the first time the European Commission officially recognized that the prevention of cancer should be based on a consideration of causes related to lifestyle, employment and the environment. And all of these factors should be considered on an equal basis.

European partnership will be formally presented in Brussels in autumn 2009. His goal - to support countries in their efforts to address cancer. The partnership will provide States the opportunity to better share information, enhance the capacity and expertise in the prevention of cancer, as well as possible to involve in the work of a wide range of stakeholders, including NGOs, research groups, associations of patients, industry and EU governments.

According to the Alliance on Health and Environment