/ leszekglasner, stock.adobe.com
–
Berlin An effective prevention could have prevented many coronary relevant pre-existing diseases. The German Alliance for Non-Communicable Diseases (THANKS) draws attention to this and criticizes that the necessary political framework conditions are lacking.
Diabetes, heart disease and tobacco addiction are all pre-existing diseases that can be reduced through political measures, said the president of the German Diabetes Society (DDG), Monika Kellerer.
But the federal government had ignored the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) for years. This is one of the reasons why more people in Germany are now at risk of developing and dying of COVID-19, said the DDG President.
The WHO has issued recommendations on how policy measures can reduce risk factors. According to DANK, around 60 to 80 percent of diabetes cases would be avoidable. But Germany has so far refused many such preventive measures, such as a tax on sweetened products or advertising regulations for fatteners.
Germany is lagging behind in many areas of prevention. That’s right now. We therefore urgently need a discussion about how we can permanently reduce the risks for these pre-existing conditions, said Kellerer.
Ute Mons, head of the Cancer Prevention Unit at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, cited smoking as an example. Tobacco consumption kills around 121,000 people in Germany every year.
Many of these premature deaths could be prevented by effective tobacco control measures, such as the long overdue ban on tobacco advertising or repeated, noticeable increases in tobacco taxes, she said. ©hil / aerzteblatt.de
– .
