A decision was made by the Bermuda Red Cross Society to follow measures taken in the US and ban blood donations from anyone who had spent six months or more in any part of Europe between 1980 and 1996. Given the composition of Bermuda's society the ban effectively blocks a large percentage of donors.

In the US it is estimated that five to six percent of donors are blocked by the measure and even there many experts suspect that given supply shortages, the new rules "will end up costing more lives than they could possibly save,'' according to a recent article in Time magazine.

Meanwhile the effect on Bermuda's blood supply is expected to be "catastrophic'' according to the man who oversees it, Dr. Keith Cunningham.

Is the ban appropriate for Bermuda given that as yet it is unknown whether the mad cow-related disease which affects humans -- new variant Creutzfeld-Jakob disease -- is even transmissible by blood in humans? Mad cow fear then struck local grocery shelves. As Canada, Mexico and the United States elected to ban Brazilian beef products due to uncertainty about their safety, it emerged that the products banned are still being sold in local grocery stores.

In all probability, the tins of Brazilian corned beef on sale are safe as we have been assured, but it is troubling that while grocers said they looked to the Ministry of Health for instruction, the Ministry didn't come out with a position until last Friday -- days after the story broke and weeks after the NAFTA countries took action.

A similar situation arose with regard to the coloured contact lenses now being sold over the counter at various local retailers. Eye professionals are protesting a Consumer Affairs decision that as long as packages contain instructions, they can be sold without professional consultation.

Eye professionals say, unless properly fitted, these `fashion' lenses can cause long-term damage to the eye's cornea and possibly result in blindness.

What is especially troubling is that these lenses are particularly popular with teenagers -- and as anyone who has ever been one knows, teenagers often prefer to believe they are immortal and untouchable rather than to proceed with caution.

Yet, despite being contacted by the local opthamalogy association, the Health Ministry again waited weeks before taking a position on the lenses. When the Ministry of Health did clarify its position on the safety of the corned beef and the fashion lenses, it essentially announced it wasn't taking a position.

Speaking for the Ministry, Dr. John Cann said that the Ministry was not going to take action on either matter but would keep the situations under review.

All three of these health matters are serious and warrant sober discussion and a clear position by Government to assure public safety.

One would hope that the Ministry would take the lead on a matter such as what is safe for local shelves, rather than retailers. One would also hope that the Minister of Health might comment on a decision expected to have such a drastic effect on local blood supplies.

Health and Family Services Minister Nelson Bascome should be fronting his Ministry's position on these matters which may have direct effect on the health of residents. But he has yet to speak directly to any of the issues and tends to be generally quiet on matters of health.

It was suggested that new Minister without Portfolio Randy Horton might help Mr. Bascome with his rather large ministry and perhaps there is a need there to be met.