Brussels, 23/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - 56 MEPs from across the political spectrum have pledged to promote action on cancer as an EU priority and harness European health policy to that end, calling for greater prevention and encouraging young people to adopt healthier lifestyles. They are members of MAC, MEPs Against Cancer.
Health experts explain that some 43% of cancer cases can be avoided, but one in four people currently die from cancer, explain the MEPs in a press release. 'Europe has a role to play in encouraging young people to adopt healthier lifestyles and lower their chances of getting cancer. We must encourage healthy behaviour during the early formative years. Tackling major risk factors at school level such as tobacco use, unhealthy diets, binge drinking and overexposure to damaging sunlight, member states can do much to step up cancer prevention,' they explain. MAC co-chair Liz Lynne (British Liberal Democrat) said: 'The data has been collected, the knowledge exists; it is essential that we transform statistics into policy. It has taken Europe more than 50 years to apply present knowledge of tobacco control and even this is not yet applied uniformly throughout the European Union.' 'The Commission's Green Paper on smoke-free environments and the planned food labelling rules are steps in the right direction, but there is so much more that we can do,' added Slovenian Christian Democrat MEP Alojz Peterle.
Every day 5214 Europeans are diagnosed with cancer and 3185 die from their disease. There are more than 2 million new cases and more than 1.1 million cancer deaths in the EU every year. (oj)