Smoking ban on pub terraces: what has the new government in store for our health?

Fewer one-day sicknotes

For a couple of years now people have been able to declare themselves sick for work for the day up to 3 times a year.  This does away with the need for a medical certificate and eases pressure on doctors, who felt they were wasting time writing sick notes. Employers were not happy with the ‘self-declaration’ pointing to a rise in short-term sick leave.

The new government is retaining the practise but self-declaration will only be permitted 2 times a year.

Stand against smoking and drugs

The new government is committed to a strict policy against smoking. Smoking rooms in buildings open to the public will be banned. Smoking on pub terraces and at youth camps will also be prohibited. Quit smoking aids are being made more accessible via the health insurance.

The government also wants to counter the hype created by vaping among young people. The coalition agreement states that e-cigarettes should be made less attractive by severely limiting the supply of flavours.

This is not a government that intends to legalise drugs. ‘Drugs are always harmful and that should be communicated as such,’ reads the coalition agreement. The government wants to focus on measures to prevent drug use and on counselling to help people to quit. This includes allowing certain users to be referred to healthcare instead of the public prosecutor's office.

On the subject of alcohol, the government wants to extend the existing ‘care pathway for alcohol’, which currently focuses mainly on young people who end up at A&E drunk, and expand it to all age groups. Furthermore, the government wants to replace the health message ‘alcohol abuse harms health’ with ‘alcohol harms health’.

No need to advance payment at physiotherapist or dentist

At present patients no longer need to advance the full cost of visiting a GP.  They pay their share on the spot and the rest of the bill goes directly to the health insurance fund.  This co-payment scheme will be further extended to more healthcare professions, including physiotherapists and dentists.

Family credit

Parents are now entitled to 4 months of parental leave, when they have a baby, as well as a range of other leave options. The new government wants to reform the system and replace it by ‘family credit’. This is a system that also exists in Scandinavian countries: parents, as well as grandparents and foster parents, are given a package of leave entitlements associated with caring for a child.

Family credit will be available to employees, civil servants and the self-employed. Exactly what it will look like and how many leave days it will entail is not yet in the coalition agreement. The government first wants to discuss matters with the social partners.

Anonymity axed for sperm and egg cells donors

People donating eggs or sperm will no longer be able to do so anonymously. ‘Knowing one's origins can be important for the identity of donor children,’ reads the new government's reasoning. With regard to past donations, the government will introduce what are termed ‘fair’ transitional measures.

Screen time under scrutiny

In consultation with the regional authorities, the government wants to ‘map out the effects of excessive screen use and social media on young people’. This will be followed by specific measures to reduce the health impact of excessive screentime.