The candidates for the presidency of the Republic still have efforts to make on health, according to the group of health security experts.
Can do better. In terms of health and road safety, the presidential candidates still have efforts to make. Several public health experts interviewed top contenders for top post as part of the group Sanitary Security. Seven of them answered questions on alcohol, tobacco or even drugs.
In a report published on April 11, specialists take stock of the programs. For this, they have developed a scoring system out of 20. The result is far from satisfactory. Only Jean-Luc Mélenchon (La France Insoumise) is distinguished by a total agreement with the proposals of the experts … even if it means angering his voters. “The differences in the positions of the candidates are enlightening, not to mention the disarming silence of some”, decide the members of the group.
The price of tobacco divides
In fact, the positions of the candidates for the presidency of the Republic are diverse. If Jean-Luc Mélenchon seems to stand out for his “flawless humanism”, this is not the case with François Fillon (Les Républicains). The conservative candidate only gives in on two points put forward by the group. Benoît Hamon (Socialist Party) and Nathalie Arthaud (Lutte Ouvrière) take over 15 and 13 proposals. Experts do not fail to highlight the worrying ambiguities of candidate Emmanuel Macron (En Marche!) And the contradictions of Marine Le Pen (National Front).
It is undoubtedly in the field of addictions that the positions stand out the best. An effective fight against smoking requires increasing the price of a pack of cigarettes to 10 euros. Emmanuel Macron seems to agree with such a measure, while Benoît Hamon proposes to increase taxes on tobacco products by 10% per year. Right-wing and far-right candidates advocate the status quo.
Alcohol crisps
When it comes to alcohol, too, variety is the order of the day. Apart from Benoît Hamon and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, no candidate wishes to warn of the dangers of alcohol, even in the absence of excessive consumption. On this point, Marine Le Pen plays the card of conservatism, since she believes that wine should be taken apart … although she wishes to return to the spirit of the Evin law of 1991. A paradoxical position but in the lineage of policies pursued so far.
The subject of alcohol does seem to bother right-wing contenders, who do not want to display calories on alcoholic products, or tax according to grams of pure alcohol.
In terms of food, the results are a little less gloomy. All applicants agree that the 5-color nutritional logo should be adopted. A beautiful union that breaks when it comes to taxing foods according to their nutritional quality. This time, only the left-wing candidates give their approval to such a measure.
A favorable promotion
There remains a central question, that of the promotion of drugs. The members of the Health Security group consider it necessary to prohibit canvassing within medical offices. On this point, Emmanuel Macron and François Fillon oppose a firm “no”. It must be said that the sector represents 12,000 jobs …
But the training of doctors could be improved. The group suggests reserving the exclusivity of continuing education (CME) for universities and conventional bodies. Here again, the candidates En Marche! and LR reject such a development. They also do not wish to prohibit the promotion – especially televised – of products whose effectiveness on health has not been demonstrated.
This position arouses the anger of public health experts. “Millions of our fellow citizens are bragged about wonderful products which make you lose weight effortlessly in a few weeks, rejuvenate your skin, give you back strength to avoid burn-out”, they curse. Without anything being done to contradict them. These divisions are all the more damaging given that, taken together, all these sectors are involved in 100,000 premature deaths per year.
Road safety lagging behind
The responses of presidential candidates are rather mediocre in terms of public health. They do not do much better in the area of road insecurity. Asked about the need to lower the speed to 80 km / h on roads without a central slide, three contenders (Fillon, Le Pen, Macron) opposed their refusal. The representative of the Front National even suggests, according to the group of experts, measures likely to increase road mortality.
So do we need more mobile radars? The candidates do not seem convinced. Only Marine Le Pen is content to judge that it is necessary to assess the impact of each rada, taking up the logic of “black spots” long abandoned. Benoît Hamon, Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron do not consider it more useful to prohibit the reporting of checks. “Incomprehensible”, slices the group of experts.
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