Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - National flu day is 7 November. You can get vaccinated against this winter’s flu, no appointment necessary, and for a reduced cost, in many doctors’ offices.
Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - National flu vaccine day in Switzerland is 7 November, a day marked by vaccinations being offered free of charge in many doctor’s offices, with no advance appointment necessary.
Bern, Switzerland (20 Minutes, Fre) - Nearly one in four 14- to 19-year-olds in Switzerland said they smoked in 2007, new health department statistics show, with the likelihood far higher if both parents smoke and the number of smokers rising sharply with age.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Official figures were released Friday morning for Swiss health insurance premiums in 2009, and the Lake Geneva region has been spared the increases that are as high as 5% in much of central Switzerland.
Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland (Le Temps, Fre) - Reports that paying for a private room for non-urgent surgery reduces the waiting time before the operation is scheduled appear to be unfounded.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Swiss federal government and cantons have agreed to continue covering the bulk of the cost of vaccinations to protect against cervical cancer for teenage girls, despite the relatively high cost of the HPV vaccine, reports RSR (Fre). Read more…
Bern, Switzerland (romandie/ats, Fre) - The cost of hearing aids, currently CHF1,500 to several thousand francs, will go down in Switzerland, with the federal social security office announcing that it will accept bids from companies outside the country to push down costs. Read more…
Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Most Swiss residents under 75 years of age say they are in good health although the number of young smokers and overweight people continues to be high.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Swiss Federal Council Wednesday announced that it will push for a two-step reform of the AI (Assurance Invalidité), Switzerland’s disability insurance programme. The financially ailing system will need a short-term plan that can be implemented very quickly, with other measures to be planned and approved by the end of 2010. Read more…
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The French organization AIWA (Association Internationale des Victimes d’Incest), which has several discussion groups that meet throughout in France, this week is opening one for the Pays de Gex area in Geneva. The group says it hopes to expand in Switzerland. Friday night, 5 September, the first discussion group will cover "Recognizing incest" (in French). The group organizes conferences and serves as an information centre.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Geneva may be the hardest place in Switzerland to find a home, but it’s the place with the lowest death rate, 462 per 100,000.
New figures published by the Swiss federal statistical office for 2006 also show that the two main causes of death in Switzerland are cardiovascular disease, 37%, and cancer, 25%. While the number of deaths is slowly falling from cardiovascular diseases, some forms of cancer, notably lung cancer among women, are on the rise.
The number of deaths linked to dementia are on the rise, but in line with an increase in life expectancy, which has been climbing steadily since 1970. Two-thirds of deaths linked to dementia are people over the age of 85.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Comparis, the popular Swiss online price comparison service for consumers, Monday showed new health insurance premiums for 2009 that are about 4% higher than the figures it offered in July, 2.4%. The actual figures will be released by the government in September. The new figures are based on preliminaray premiums from companies that represent about 80% of the country’s health insurers. Comparis offers comparisons in English, as well as a good explanation of the Swiss health insurance system, obligatory and optional.
Lake Geneva region, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Two Lake Geneva region families today feature in a broadcast on National Public Radio in the US, part of a series that looks at European health care systems. The two stories show aspects of the Swiss health system, with families from the area who have lived in the US and elsewhere, including Switzerland. GenevaLunch editor Ellen Wallace and her husband, Nicholas Bates were interviewed about the Swiss system for families with severely handicapped children, making a comparison with a family in Massachussetts. Cecile Crettol of Geneva is interviewed about how the system works for families faced with a health care crisis.
Cecile Crettol Rappaz, on All Things Considered
Ellen Wallace, on Morning Edition
Photo, courtesy of NPR
Neuchatel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The number of births in Switzerland has increased to its highest number in six years. According to federal figures released by the Statistics Federal Office, 74,500 children were born making 2007 the year with the highest number of births since 2001. Although these are good news, Switzerland still has a very low birth rate of less than two children per woman.
The report also shows that "moms" are much older than before. Women 35 and older were the largest group giving birth in the Confederation. By contrast, the number of women under 30 years of age giving birth has decreased. The number of out-of-wedlock births has significantly increased in the past ten years although the rate is still one of the lowest in Europe.
Other interesting statistics presented in the report:
- Men say "I do", exactly 71 per cent, more than women when it comes to same-sex domestic partnerships in Switzerland.
- There was a slight increase, 1.6 per cent, in the number of marriages.
- The number of divorces decreased 5.2 per cent in 2007.
Vallée de Joux, Vaud, Switzerland (Le Temps, Fre) - Forecasts of sunny weekend weather fell apart in most of the Lake Geneva region Sunday, with heavy rains.
The downpour landed in the Vallée de Joux as 3-5,000 people, far short of the 40,000 expected in good weather, took to the streets for the annual Slow-up, a day to take time to enjoy the outdoors on foot, skates or by bicycle or any other non-motorized vehicle.
Photo: rain and fog covered most of the region Sunday. Here, rain arrives in the garden: Valais.
Neuchatel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The aging population in Switzerland might not have enough doctors to respond to its ambulatory care.
According to figures released by the Swiss health observatory, by 2030 the number of doctors will decrease, family doctors in particular, while the older population will increase. This imbalance could mean that 30% of required visits by older patients might go unattended.
The study calls for the University Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine in Lausanne to determine what must be done to ensure that all patients receive care.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Swiss teenagers consume less alcohol, marijuana and tobacco than before. That is the result of a study published by the ISPA, the Swiss institute for the prevention of alcohol and drug problems. It seems that higher prices, more restrictions and prevention campaigns are to thank for the results. However, alcohol, and in particular "binge drinking", continues to be the most relevant substance addiction among teens. The study shows that a smaller percentage of youngsters also continues to use sleeping pills, cocaine and other hallucinogenic substances.
Zurich, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) - The trial opens today in Zurich of a Somalian couple, age 35, who admit to having incised their daughter, then age two, 10 years ago. It is the first such court case in Switzerland, according to Unicef, which has been actively fighting female genital mutilation worldwide. The case comes two weeks after a woman was given a suspended sentence for her role in having a girl incised, but outside Switzerland. The couple on trial now risk 10 years in prison.
Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Ikea, through the BFC, the Swiss federal consumer protection agency, is recalling a sleeping bag for babies because of a possible risk a child could choke on the zipper. Two customers reported that part of the zip detached during use. The bags, produced in Indonesia, have been sold since April 2008. Customers who have a BARNSLIG sleeping bag with date stamps 0745 to 0824 are asked to take it back to any IKEA store for a full refund.
Ikea is also recalling a FEMTON clamp spotlight after tests showed there was a risk of over-heating. For further information on any of the recalls in Switzerland, call toll-free at 0848 801 100
Lake Geneva region, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Sunshine and hot weather are predicted for the weekend, but don’t head indoors when it turns dark, for 21 June is not only the longest day of the year, it comes complete with a full moon.
It’s also been declared Nuit Suisse de la Randonnee and several nighttime hikes are planned throughout Switzerland, including five near Geneva and in Vaud. Alpine areas are hosting several magnificent walks: check the database, organized by region, on the hikers’ site.
This is a weekend to head outdoors, even if you opt to stay in town, with music in the streets and various community fairs.
Photo: nearly, nearly full summer moon rising over the Swiss Alps.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Swiss are increasingly using three potentially dangerous products to treat wrinkles, unaware of the risk they are taking, says Swissmedic, Switzerland’s independent supervisory authority for therapeutic products. Dysport, Botox et Vistabel are three trademarked pharmaceutical products that must be prescribed and which cannot be renewed without careful supervision, it points out. Only one has a limited cosmetic treatment use, but there is a widespread public misperception that the main ingredient, the toxin botulin, in the form of botulinum toxin A, is harmless. Botulinum toxin A is the key ingredient in botox, a popular cosmetic treatment, injected under the skin to remove wrinkles. Botulinum toxin A works by locally paralyzing muscles and when used without close supervision can cause neurological problems, including paralysis.
Photo: by age 30 she will have wrinkles to consider, but not all treatments are safe.
Bern, Switzerland (romandie/ats, Fre) - The general Swiss sales tax could rise to 8%, tax on food to 2.5% and the hotel tax to 3.8% if voters back Parliament. The lower house of Parliament has agreed to a temporary increase in the Swiss sales tax to get rid of the AI’s (disability insurance) debt. The upper house is expected to approve the measure later this week. Swiss voters will then decide if they want to accept the recommendation to increase taxes between 2010 and 2016 to end the AI’s structural deficit. The tax increase would be combined with a one-time payment from the better-endowed AVS system.
Switzerland (Le Temps, Fre) - Medical associations and hospitals in the Lake Geneva region are feeling pressure from patients to provide more information about how well qualified doctors are to treat them. Health consumers in the 21st century expect to paticipate more actively in their own care, reports Le Temps, which today runs a series of articles on health care. Doctors in the region see this as a good thing, but medical associations balk at going beyond the current practice of providing lists of doctors to rating them.
Annecy, France (GenevaLunch) - In two weeks the SPAR European Cup, a European athletics team competition, will take place for the final time in Annecy, France.
As of 2009, this tournament will be replaced by a new competition known as the European Team Championships with a larger number of teams competing in the top divisions. The overall winning team will be decided on a combined total of both men and women’s individual results. The competition will consist of 20 standard track and field events.
Photo, Michele_mcl on flickr
Lausanne, Switzerland (24 Heures, Fre) - Two researchers at the University of Lausanne, professors Tadeusz Kawecki and Joep Burger, have discovered that by improving the learning skills of one set of flies from Basel they shortened the lifespan of the insects. Their work has just appeared in the journal Evolution.
Details: The New York Times recently carried the detailed story and US national radio NPR has a six-minute audio interview with Kawecki.
