Women's status in the Polish Society in light of legal regulations till year 2015 / Sytuacja kobiet w polskim spoleczenstwie z punktu widzenia obowiazujacego prawa do roku 2015

INTRODUCTION: Gender equality and women's rights are the subjects of ongoing discussions in societies all over the world. Women, more often than men, are likely to become victims of gender-based violence. The studies carried out in Europe show that only the every second woman is aware of gender-based legal regulations in her country, 19% cannot recognise any support service, and what is particularly important for the health care system ­ 87% would like their medical doctor to ask patients with physical injuries about potential violence experienced. AIM: The Paper aims at presenting the women's status in the Polish society in light of current legal regulations implemented to guarantee equal treatment of both genders in every walk of life, which then reflects in the society's physical and emotional health condition. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Authors analysed the current legal regulations in Poland with the aim to draw a preliminary evaluation of the women's status in Poland as far as the realisation of the Third Millennium Development Goal within the UN Millennium Project Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women is concerned. RESULTS: The basic tool to combat violence in Poland is so-called the Blue Cards system. Till 2015 the Polish current law protected the women's rights to a great extent. However, many issues were not covered by legal regulations, and in a great number of cases, women's rights were practically not respected. Consequently, despite resolutions and international conventions ratified by Poland in order to legally protect women's rights, they still remain a partially solved issue.

Food supplement-related risks in the light of internet and RASFF data.

OBJECTIVE: Based on legal acts and RASFF information, this paper aimed at evaluating available facts on food supplements in comparison to the most popular data accessible via Internet for future and present consumers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Having analyzed legal acts and RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) database, the authors attempted to verify what kind of information on food supplements may be found by an Internet user, using the first webpage of Google.pl. This search engine was used in this study as it gained the highest popularity among Internet users. It was decided that exclusively search results displayed on the first webpage would be subject to analysis as 91.5% of Internet users limit their search to the first 9-10 results. Internet was searched using the following two terms: 'supplement' and 'supplements' as well as terms suggested by Google. pl. Subsequently, the results were subject to qualitative and quantitative analyses. RESULTS: On the Internet, the most frequently searched terms were: 'supplements' (243 000 000), 'supplement' (9 290 000), 'supplements shop' (8 200 000). Having analyzed the content of particular websites, information on certain products, given by their manufacturers may be found. Then, data on supplement itself were provided, i.e. what is a supplement and when it should be used. Expert articles (written by physicians, dieticians, pharmacists) on a risk resulting from these products, including therapeutic indications or the presence of unauthorized substances were identified considerably less frequently. No warnings regarding the necessity of purchasing the products in legal and verified places were found. CONCLUSIONS: There is a necessity of systemic education of consumers on reasonable use of food supplements. It is also advisable to consider the organization of alert system whose objective would be to monitor adverse reactions caused by an intake of food supplements or novel food launched into the country. To obtain reliable information on the composition and effects of food supplements, potential consumer should contact physician or dietician. Additionally, complementary information, using different sources with an example being health-related portals, presenting articles written by physicians or pharmacists, may be also searched.