• letter

At the editorial office of OEM, we are always excited about the launch of a new series, or improvements to the style or presentation of the journal. We believe any initiative that increases the interest of our readers and helps to inform and stimulate comment and debate contributes to the success of OEM. Recent developments include our new cover and format of articles, submission and review of papers through our website, the free availability of the online journal in the 100 poorest countries, and our successful continuing professional development series.

In another innovation, starting with this issue, we will be publishing an occasional series of short articles from practitioners in occupational and environmental health in different parts of the world: “Letter from ...”. The aim of this series is to highlight some event, observation about work or work conditions, success in occupational health intervention or prevention, issue of concern, or any occupational and environmental health activity. The articles will be informative and readable rather than hard science; they may be humorous and entertaining, or serious and thought provoking. They will be the personal viewpoint of the authors. A unifying theme will be relevance to occupational and environmental medicine theory or practice, but this may often be oblique.

Initially, we will identify possible authors and commission these letters. Members of the OEM editorial board are being approached first for these articles, as they hail from many different countries and have their finger on the pulse of occupational and environmental health developments in their region. However, we would also welcome any suitable letters from readers. We do not promise to publish everything that is submitted. Letters received will be reviewed for relevance and interest, and these may be edited before publication. Our first letter is from Pakistan, in which Anne Cockcroft highlights the hazards of road transport in that country. In the pipeline are letters from Rome, Dubai, Australia, Singapore, Brazil, and other diverse locations.

We hope you will come to look forward to these letters in forthcoming issues of the journal, and that you will enjoy reading them, and writing in if you feel a response is warranted. Responses from readers are welcomed—online responses in the first instance, although they may also be published in a subsequent issue of the print journal. We will consider the series a success if it stimulates thought, encourages debate, or even if it simply provides an enjoyable read.