At your service
SIMON STEVENS
KEITH RIDGE
B R U C E WA R N E R
Chief Executive of NHS England
Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, NHS England
Deputy Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, NHS England
f ie
EY OU
ld
VOICE
V HA
We gave our readers the opportunity to ask NHS England and Department of Health leaders their critical questions. W O R D S B Y John Pinching
READER’S
R S AY @phar
ma
Sarah Pinch, Managing Director, Pinch Point Communications:
Q: Is the advertising ban on sugary
foods going to help with the emerging diabetes and obesity problem?
Richard Cobourne, Medical Communications Consultant, Cobourne Limited:
Q: How do European Commission marketing authorisation decisions affect NHS prescribing decisions – or is NICE the authority? Department of Health spokesperson: A: NHS prescribers may prescribe any drug that has received a marketing authorisation, subject to some national restrictions and local funding policies. NICE issues guidance to the NHS on whether licensed medicines represent a clinically and cost effective use of resources. NHS England spokesperson: A: Granting marketing authorisations for biotechnology products falls under the authority of the European Medicines Agency, and the European Commission, within the European Union.
2 4 | PH A R M A FI EL D.CO.U K
“Obesity now affects one in five children, causes one in five cancer deaths, and already costs the NHS £5 billion a year – so obesity is the new smoking.” Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England
Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England: A: This bold and welcome action will send a powerful signal, and incentivise soft drinks companies to act on the health consequences of their products. It is a major first step in what must be a comprehensive childhood obesity strategy that will help us shed pounds off our waistlines, and save pounds on future NHS costs. While no child needs a daily dose of sugary fizzy water, sadly soft drinks are now our children’s largest single source of diabetesinducing, teeth-rotting excess sugar. And since poorer children are twice as likely to be obese than better off children, these measures should also cut child health inequalities. Obesity now affects one in five children, causes one in five cancer deaths, and already costs the NHS £5 billion a year – so obesity is the new ‘smoking’.