Chamber and committees

The York Review (http://www0.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/summary.pdf) considered all relevant and robust research on fluoridation and concluded that water fluoridation reduces levels of decay and that, apart from an increase in dental fluorosis (mottling), there are no associated adverse effects on health.

I refer the member to the answers given to questions S1W-30644 and S1W-30645 on 31 October 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

All asylum seekers entering Scotland have a health check on arrival which takes account of their physical and mental health needs. Those who are considered to be at risk of tuberculosis after the initial health assessment, by virtue of symptoms, history or any likelihood of exposure, are tested and followed up within the local health care system. However, tuberculosis is not considered to be a major health hazard amongst asylum seekers and refugees when compared to other groups.

The association between smoking and lung cancer is well known; 90% of lung cancer patients are smokers or ex-smokers. The Scottish Executive published Smoking Cessation Guidelines in 2001 and £1 million is available annually for smoking cessation services and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).Information and advice on the effects of smoking, symptoms of lung cancer and where to seek medical help is readily available from a variety of sources including, for example, well women and well men clinics, Healthy Living Centres, GPs' surgeries and hospitals. The Scottish Executive issued Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer in April 2002 to facilitate appropriate referral between primary and secondary care for patients whom a GP suspects may have cancer. The guidelines are also accessible to the wider public on the Cancer in Scotland website at www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/cancerinscotland.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O-5810 on 7 November 2002, which is available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/search.htm.

The UK Drug Misuse and Dependence - Guidelines on Clinical Management provide clinicians with guidance on the medical and other management of drug dependence. Treatment should be tailored to meet the specific clinical needs of the individual and aimed at achieving a stabilisation dose. The guidelines recommend that the initial dose is titrated against withdrawal symptoms and, if necessary, increased gradually up to a total of between 60 and 120mg per person per day.

The question of withdrawal symptoms associated with Seroxat is a safety issue concerning a licensed medicinal product and therefore falls within the UK-wide remit of the Medicines Control Agency (MCA). The agency, with advice as required from the Committee on the Safety of Medicines, maintains constant vigilance over the safe use of all medicines licensed for use in the UK, and keeps under continuous review the safety data available to it from a large number of sources worldwide. The possibility of symptoms associated with the discontinuation of Seroxat is already identified in the approved advice to prescribers, along with recommendations on how to minimise them. Were any new and valid concerns to emerge the MCA would take prompt and appropriate action. The Executive does not, therefore, intend to ask the Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) to review the issue. Information about the criteria and process for selection of topics to undergo Health Technology Assessment by the HTBS can be found on their website www.htbs.co.uk.

Until recently, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) had received no proposal to develop a guideline on autistic spectrum disorder. A proposal has recently been lodged and will be considered by the SIGN Council in November, as part of the normal selection process.

The Scottish Executive has already demonstrated its commitment to address low pay both now and in the future through targeted, above inflation increases, for the lowest paid NHS staff in each of the last four years and also in the context of the on-going UK national negotiations on pay modernisation. Negotiations on the new modernised pay system are currently in their final stages and it would be inappropriate to speculate on their outcome.

This issue primarily relates to occupational health and safety, which is a reserved matter.