Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/616203
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 16 DECEMBER 2015 News Love * Terms and conditions apply getting my VAT back in vouchers * g Free christmas wrapping & Free delivery* * Terms and conditions apply g Slow down: Think tank proposes 30 km/h limit in urban areas JAMES DEBONO A report by the Today Policy Institute concludes that health costs can be reduced by up to €60 million if preventive health measures such as encouraging people to exercise more are im- plemented. One of the concrete measures proposed in the report is the in- troduction of a 30 km/h urban speed limit, as widely adopted in European cities and towns. The report warns that higher urban speeds result in a street environment which discourages people from walking or cycling. The report notes that in Malta the risk-benefit equation be- tween f low of traffic and wel- fare of other road users remains one-sided. "The difference between a speed limit of 30 km/h and one of 50 km/h may mean life or death for a child or an aged pe- destrian," the report says. A proposal to reduce the legal speed limit in Attard's residen- tial roads to 30 kilometres per hour first proposed by Green party councillor Ralph Cassar in 2011 still awaits the final stamp of the transport au- thority after being anony- mously approved by the council. The TPI report, which focuses on the environ- mental dimension of ill health, takes as its starting point a number of damning statistics like those which show Malta having the low- est national level of physical activity in the world and the highest frequency of obesity and type 2 diabetes in Europe. 58% of Maltese adults are overweight and 22% are obese. The latter figure is far higher than the European average and second only to the UK (24%). Added to these are the costs resulting from childhood obes- ity and, as Malta's population ages, an increase in the inci- dence of dementia. Obesity, type 2 diabetes and dementia are estimated to cost annually around €150 million. But the report concludes that a 50% reduction of obesity and diabetes is feasible with well- implemented interventions. The prevalence of dementia can be decreased by 20%. Key to any strategy to ad- dress the lack of physical mo- bility is a reform of Malta's dysfunctional transport sys- tem. Improving the urban envi- ronment to encourage walk- ing and bicycle use can only encourage active mobility. The costs of Malta's dys- functional transport for 2012 were estimated at €274 million by the UOM Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development. This was largely accounted for by traffic congestion (€118 million) and accidents (€83 million). The cost of air pollution was calculated at €83.9 million and noise €11mil- lion. But this amount does not include health costs arising out of lack of exercise. According to the report, a healthy lifestyle which includes regular physical exercise, a healthy diet, avoidance of smok- ing and limiting alcohol con- sumption to 3-4 units per day, plays a major role in the preven- tion of cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and other diseases. Ban on sugary displays The report also comes up with a number of concrete measures to address unhealthy eating. These include the prohibi- tion of displays of sugary food at ends of supermarket aisles, the prohibition of special offers and discounts on sugary food in supermarkets, the introduction of a tax on high sugar foods and a proposal to set up a legal dis- tance between fast-food outlets and schools. It also proposes the greater emphasis on nutri- tion in the Curriculum. Maltese manager of St James Hospital in Tripoli abducted MALTESE national Pierre Bal- dacchino, a manager at Saint James Hospital in Tripoli, was abducted by unknown persons in Tripoli yesterday, the Times of Malta has reported. The Maltese government is be- lieved to be involved in trying to help track down the 36-year-old father of two. He is the second Maltese man to have been abducted in the Libyan capital in two months. Noel Sciberras, the director of CT Parks, a company which administers car parks, had al- so been abducted by a gang in Tajoura, and subsequently re- leased by the Rada militia in an operation conducted on Wednes- day 28 October. He had been held in Libya for over 46 days. Unverified claims by the Rada militia on Facebook reported that a ransom of €5 million had been asked for his release by his captors. The Rada "Deterrent" Force was respon- sible for the control of Mitiga Airport, the only operational airport in Tripoli after Tripoli International Airport was heav- ily damaged and rendered inop- erable in fighting between Zin- tani militias and Libya forces in 2014. The militia is a powerful Tripo- li-based group led by hardline Islamist Abdul Raouf Kara — which also maintains a base there and runs the airport prison. The group has carried out frequent incursions against Islamic State forces in Libya, and is affiliated to the Libya Dawn (Fajr Libya) government in Tripoli. Pierre Baldacchino, 36, father of two, has been abducted by unknown persons in Tripoli