The Public Health Agency (PHA) welcomes the recent announcement that mephedrone is to be classified as a Class B illegal substance from April 16. However, our concern is that the producers of these synthetic drugs will manufacture alternative ones to get around the law. The current process of having to find evidence of risk as each new drug emerges, before it can be banned, means there will always be a time delay between a drug becoming available, and it being made illegal.

The Public Health Agency (PHA) is urging young men to open up and not cover up their problems with a campaign which aims to encourage males to speak out about their feelings before things get out of control.

The latest statistics on melanoma highlight an increase in rates of malignant melanoma across the UK1. Malignant melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer and the Public Health Agency is today urging everyone to take care in the sun and to avoid the use of sunbeds to reduce their risk of skin cancer.

That’s the message going out to parents via a multi-agency campaign highlighting the importance of talking to your children about alcohol before they are introduced to it by someone else.

The Public Health Agency and Northern Health and Social Care Trust have made arrangements for approximately 30 pupils and relevant staff who attend Ballyclare High School to be offered screening for Tuberculosis (TB) on Wednesday, 20 January. This action is being taken as a precautionary measure in line with standard national guidance following confirmation that a pupil at the school is being treated for TB.

That’s the question the Public Health Agency, (PHA), is putting to smokers to encourage them to quit smoking on No Smoking Day – March 10th 2010.This year’s theme is ‘Break free - we can help’. The PHA is launching a campaign to encourage smokers to make a quit attempt and use the support available in Northern Ireland to help them do so. Smoking takes typically 10-15 years off a person’s life and is the single greatest cause of preventable illness and premature death in Northern Ireland.

“Sex don’t just do it, think it through” - the sexual health awareness campaign, developed by the Public Health Agency, will be rerun throughout March 2010. The campaign, targeting 16 – 25 year olds, aims to promote respect within relationships and empower young people to delay sexual intercourse until a time when they are ready.

Time to change minds about depression Local mental health charity Aware Defeat Depression has called for a change in attitudes towards people with mental health problems. To raise awareness of just how serious a problem depression is, the charity has organised the first ever annual Depression Aware Week across Northern Ireland. The event will run from Monday 26 April to Saturday 1 May.

The Public Health Agency (PHA) believes Icelandic volcanic ash currently poses no threat to public health here.When an Icelandic volcano erupted earlier this month staff from the PHA and partner agencies around the country began monitoring movement of the volcanic ash in the atmosphere and looking for any impacts on the health of people in the UK.

Public Health Agency responds to the challenge of Suicide in Northern Ireland as outlined in the BBC documentary – Breaking the silence As part of the implementation of the Protect life strategy, the Public Health Agency (PHA) is working with partners and key stakeholders to prevent suicide and provide support for bereaved families.1 The Protect life strategy was published by the DHSSPS in 2006 to address the challenges of suicide, such as those raised in the BBC documentary Breaking the silence.