Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 17.12. 2007

Quality of atmosphere remains the biggest Czech ecological problem

“Unfortunately, there is no question that bad quality of atmosphere is the biggest Czech environment problem. All available data confirms it. A worsen air quality has very often concrete health consequences”, the Minister of Environment Martin Bursík says. Therefore last week the Ministry of Environment in cooperation with the Ministry of Health put forward information to the government on air quality and health risks which results from its pollution. A part of the information for government was also an actual yearbook of air quality “Pollution of atmosphere in the Czech Republic territory in 2006” which way produced by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ).

Gloomy perspectives: bird flu virus will resist all medicaments

Virus H5N1 which cases bird flu could become resistant to meantime the only one effective medicament Tamiflu. A study of Oxford scientists published in technical paper Environmental Health Perspectives documents it. A human body can not completely process a substance oseltamivir which the medicament contains. Entire 80 percent of the active substance go out of a person and gets in sewage. The substances aggregated in rivers and lakes than can cause resistance of the virus to the medicament. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) about three million tablets of Tamiflu have been sold till this time.

We all suffer from smokers. Annually it cost billions

The Czech Republic loses billions due to smoking annually. Incomes from taxes which smokers pay do not cover costs and loses which smokers cause the state purse. In 2003 it capitalized on smoking 49 billion, however, costs were 64 billion. So the was by 15 billion crowns less in the final accounting in the budget. An analysis Economics of smoking in the Czech Republic, published in a magazine Hygiena of the State Health Institute in this year's fourth number, brings these results. The study warns that costs for treatment of ill smokers are not the only expenditures which the state has with this phenomenon.

Restaurants will not raise price too much, only beer

At present time when prices of gas, electricity, milk products, bread and pastry and other foods increase, a restaurant in Děčín region will not raise prices too much. Only prices of beer have increased meantime. ”Since breweries increased price of beer Plzeň by two crowns, also we had to raise the price and that by 3 crowns”, Marie Nováková, an owner of the restaurant Ve Dvoře in Děčín. She added that this step was made about two months ago. They will not raise prices of meal and other beverages. And meantime they nor prepare it. Also in a restaurant in Mikulášovice they raised price of beer. They do not increase price of anything else nor they are preparing for it.