Dear All,

Following the “CALL FOR ACTION: Vitamin D Nutritional Policy in Europe” event on 23 March 2010 in the European Parliament in Brussels, we like to provide you with an update on the latest developments and plan to do so on a regular basis. The conference kindly hosted by Member of the European Parliament, János Áder, was organised by the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) and PA International Foundation and we thank everyone for their interest and support in making this event a great success. The workshop provided a unique opportunity to bring the issue of widespread Vitamin D deficiency to the fore, at European level. The distinguished panel of experts, doctors, politicians, and patients’ representatives further highlighted vitamin D’s increasing health benefits, education and the issue of enabling consumer choice. On 19 April 2010, the Parliament Magazine published a Special Issue on Vitamin D entitled “The Sunshine Supplement” which included interviews with all the key speakers as well as a conference report. This and all conference materials are freely available on our website as is a short video of the event: http://www.pa-international.org/Vitamin-D.htm.

At the meeting, all parties joined in a strong call for action towards policy-makers to bring the topic higher on the agenda. The politicians present committed to making the best use of the European Parliament’s power in promoting this public health issue and opportunity. Member of the European Parliament and co-chair of the Parliament’s Osteoporosis interest group, Dr. Weisgerber, invited participants back to the Parliament in 2011 to review progress. We are grateful to the involved European Politicians for taking up the issue immediately. So far, four Parliamentary Questions on Vitamin D have been addressed to the European Commission, notably EU Health Commissioner John Dalli. We are keeping an updated compendium of these MEP questions and answers (when available) and it is available to download from our website or by email.

Naturally, we will continue to further engage with politicians, pan-European patient groups, national medical associations, Member States and EU Health Authorities to keep up the momentum on raising awareness on Vitamin D. Following the parliamentarian’s request to continue to exchange information, a number of participants have informed us about national initiatives/developments on Vitamin D – we intend to use this ‘update’ to also inform you of such activities.

In the UK, the former Medical Editor of The Sunday Times and science journalist Oliver Gillie (now head of the Health Research Forum) has authored a new article titled “Sunlight robbery: A critique of public health policy on vitamin D in the UK” that has been accepted for publication by the renowned scientific journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. The article is very timely and likely to have an influence on upcoming health policy discussions under the newly elected British Government. If you would like to receive a copy of the report, please do not hesitate to contact us and we can put you in touch with Dr. Gillie.

Best regards,

The Vitamin D Team

Public Advice International Foundation