Cancer testing by health professionals outside of organised population-based screening programmes may actually be more injurious to health, the annual report of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) has stated.
The report, "Better Health by Prevention", by Dr Jim Kiely and his staff, also includes chapters on alcohol and public health, smoking and road accidents.
On testing for cancer, the CMO said there was a considerable level of cervical smear testing, Prostate Specific Antigen testing and non-BreastCheck mammograms being carried out by health professionals.
"Without appropriate quality assurance mechanisms, clear referral and follow-up procedures, call and recall processes among many other organisational attributes, this form of testing does not carry the benefits of organised population-based screening, and may actually be more injurious to health," the CMO said.
The report recommended that such testing should only be carried out when patients and health professionals knew and understood its significant limitations.
On road accidents, the CMO recommended that the permissible level of blood/alcohol be reduced, and random breath testing and rigorous penalties for conviction should be introduced.
He also said the penalty points system should continue to be implemented, and a review of the Road Safety Strategy to take account of developments since 1997 should be carried out.
On tobacco and smoking, the CMO said he welcomed the ban on smoking in the workplace, but said other measures should be taken to tackle the problem, including keeping the prices of tobacco products higher so that "affordability" was reduced, and health education, counselling, and other supports.
The chapter on alcohol stated that a set of targeted measures to protect public health and safety, as well as creating an environment which helped people make healthy choices, needed to be implemented without delay.
These included regulation of availability, reduction of drink driving, and reduction of pressure on adolescents to drink.