[Burying family pets: legislation, risks, and recommendations].

At one point or other all pet owners are confronted with the death of their pet. To safeguard public health and to prevent the transmission of disease, there are regulations concerning the burial of family pets. This article focuses on relevant regulations and potential risks and provides recommendations for the burial of family pets.

Does the workplace-smoking ban eliminate differences in risk for environmental tobacco smoke exposure at work?

Objectives: A workplace-smoking ban in the Netherlands was introduced on January 1, 2004. Before the ban male and low educated employees were at higher risk for exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Effective implementation of the ban should result not only in an overall decline of exposure, but also in the disappearance of systematic differences in exposure between subgroups of employees.

The tobacco sales ban and tobacco purchases by adolescents: a general population study in The Netherlands.

Background: The study aimed to assess the effect of the introduction on 1 January 2003 of a legal tobacco sales ban in The Netherlands on tobacco purchases by smoking and non-smoking adolescents aged <16 years.

Methods: Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted among adolescents aged 13 through 15 years, one at end 1999 (n = 4751) and the other at end 2003 (n = 13 298).

Results: The percentage of adolescents buying tobacco decreased significantly from 26.

Enforcement of the ban on aristolochic acids in Chinese traditional herbal preparations on the Dutch market.

In traditional Chinese medicine several Aristolochia species are used. Aristolochia spp. contain a mixture of aristolochic acids (AAs), mainly AA I and AA II which are nephrotoxicants and carcinogens.