[Current tasks and structure of the Council on Public Health]

The Council on Public Health (CPH) is a scientific council established in 1848 to assist the authorities in public and environmental health. The CPH has recently been restructurized mainly on the basis of changes in tasks related to obligations at the European level and to the integration of the National Council on Nutrition in the CPH. The CPH consists of 80 members; the CPH is subdivided in seven sections and one logistic unit. Several sections are further subdivided in subsections each of which deals with specific problems. The CPH is assisted by a scientific and an administrative secretariat. The activities of the CPH are illustrated with several examples of important subjects that were treated recently.