Government faces demands for public health act

A health charity has called on the government to draw up a new public health act as a matter of urgency. John Wyn Owen, secretary of the Nuffield Trust, delivering the annual Chadwick lecture in Manchester, said that he supported the chief medical officer's recent proposal for a UK strategy for infectious diseases and the need for up to date law.He said the government should develop a UK-wide strategy for health intelligence and protection, and infectious disease surveillance, and devise a UK health strategy, integrating domestic and foreign policy.And he said the events of September 11, and the release of anthrax spores in the US had highlighted the importance of public health.