Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland targets
At present no targets for Coronary Heart Disease have been set.
Health Promotion Agency
The Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland (HPA) was set up in 1990 as a special agency of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS). It is accountable to the Minister responsible for Health.
Their aim is to provide leadership, strategic direction and support, where possible, to all those involved in promoting health in Northern Ireland.
This involves working with policy makers at government level, those in statutory, voluntary, commercial and community sectors and individuals themselves. By working with others to shift the emphasis of modern health services towards prevention, protection and education, to reduce the need for treatment or rehabilitation and improve overall quality of life.
'Investing for Health' strategy
The 'Investing for Health' strategy represents a shift in health policy, which in the past has tended to concentrate on the treatment of ill health, rather than on its prevention. Its overall aim is to address the wider determinants of health, particularly the social and economic inequalities that exist. Within the strategy
- homes
- communities
- schools and colleges
- the workplace
are identified as the main focal points for programmes of activity to improve health in Northern Ireland.
Smoking in Northern Ireland
A smoking ban is to be implemented in all Northern Ireland's workplaces and enclosed public spaces, including pubs. However, it will be April 2007 before the new legislation comes into effect in Northern Ireland.
The Irish Republic introduced a total ban on smoking in workplaces and public spaces in 2004.