COUGHS and sneezes spread diseases. That was the message from MP Andrew Lansley who visited a Crow Country school last week to emphasise the importance of good tissue habits. Mr Lansley, the MP for South Cambridgeshire and shadow secretary of state for he

COUGHS and sneezes spread diseases.

That was the message from MP Andrew Lansley who visited a Crow Country school last week to emphasise the importance of good tissue habits.

Mr Lansley, the MP for South Cambridgeshire and shadow secretary of state for health, stopped off at Petersfield School in Orwell to observe pupils using a new teaching resource called Sneezesafe.

Mr Lansley said: "Schools can be a prime breeding ground for colds and flu so there is a real need to teach children about how germs are spread and encourage them to use three simple steps to prevent colds and flu - blow or catch a sneeze in a tissue, throw the tissue away and wash your hands."

Sneezesafe uses cartoon characters Suki Sneeze and Nathan Noseblow to help educate children aged four to nine on the importance of good health and tissue hygiene. It has been developed in line with the Department of Health's Catch It Kill It Bin It campaign, which is designed to keep bugs such as swine flu in check.

Mr Lansley added: "This is a message the Department of Health has been pushing hard in light of swine flu and so a resource like Sneezesafe is really important in supporting communications, especially amongst children.

"The design of the programme means that children are learning through interactive games and fun stories which will hopefully instil habits from a young age."

Karen Gwynn, PSHE coordinator at Petersfield primary, said: "The programme has encouraged the children to consider health issues and be more aware of them. As a school with a healthy school status, this is very important to us."

The programme, developed by the tissue firm Kleenex, is being utilised in 22,000 schools up and down the country. For more information, visit www.sneezesafe.co.uk