News Now Irish Heart Foundation welcomes Childhood Obesity Act The Irish Heart Foundation has welcomed provisions in the Programme for Government document to deliver a Public Health (Childhood Obesity) Act, including new restrictions on junk food marketing and the introduction of No-Fry Zones around schools.
on the agenda put forward by many of the country’s foremost experts in the Irish Heart Foundation’s recent Childhood Obesity Manifesto, this agreement between the parties involved in Government negotiations can transform the future health of our young people.’
Head of Advocacy with the Irish Heart Foundation, Chris Macey, said the plans provided the foundation to implement a programme that could cut the rate of childhood obesity in Ireland by 50% by 2030. ‘The State’s own research estimates that 85,000 of this generation of children in Ireland will die prematurely due to overweight and obesity. By delivering
He added however that the imposition of a new sugar tax to help pay the economic cost to the State of the COVID-19 emergency must not impact on investment in measures to fight obesity and that a portion of the levy should be ring-fenced to deliver a healthier food environment for our children.
Research company offers €80,000 funding for local communities Independent research company TRP Research has launched Media Opinions Ireland a new research project offering a total of €80,000 to fundraising groups across Ireland in return for their opinions about TV, radio, websites, and on-demand programmes. Individuals are also able to take part and can choose rewards including shopping vouchers and charity donations. Rewards can be converted to iTunes, O’Neills or All4One shopping vouchers or they can be donated to one of seven nominated charities: Pieta House, Focus Ireland, Alone, The Irish Cancer Society, Team Hope and Laura Lynn. For more information or to sign up visit www. mediaopinionsireland.ie or contact them at info@mediaopinionsireland.ie or 087 208 6703. 2 Senior Times l August 2020 l www.seniortimes.ie
Mandatory face masks on public transport ‘creates barriers for the deaf’ The new mandatory rules on face coverings on public transport a ‘creates significant communication barriers’ for over 300,000 people in Ireland who rely on lip reading, according to Chime, the National Charity for Deafness and Hearing Loss. Brendan Lennon, Head of Advocacy at Chime, stated: ‘Chime fully recognises the value of face coverings to prevent the spread of Covid-19. However, the use of face masks in particular, creates significant communication challenges for people who are deaf and hard of hearing’. Share a Smile fundraising campaign As part of their efforts to highlight the challenges created by face masks for people who are deaf and hard of hearing, Chime has launched a fundraising campaign. The ‘Share a Smile’ campaign encourages people to upload to social media a smiling selfie, ideally wearing a facemask, to demonstrate the challenge of seeing people’s emotions, facial expressions and lips while wearing a mask.
People who upload a selfie are asked to use the #ShareASmile hashtag and then text CHIME to 50300 and donate €4 (€3.60 will go to Chime) so that Chime can continue to provide advice, support and care to those impacted by deafness or hearing loss. Chime are encouraging any person with hearing loss who needs support to reach out for assistance. Chime’s support line can be contacted on 1800 256 257, email: info@chime.ie, or text 087 922 1046. For more information about Chime visit www.chime.ie.
