Hunger strikes are being used increasingly and not only by those with a political point to make. Whereas in the past, hunger strikes in the United Kingdom seemed mainly to be started by terrorist prisoners for political purposes, the most recent was begun by a Tamil convicted of murder, to protest his innocence. In the later stages of his strike, before calling it off, he was looked after at the Hammersmith Hospital. So it is not only prison doctors who need to know how to handle a hunger strike. The following guidelines, adopted by the 43rd World Medical Assembly in Malta in November 1991, are therefore a timely reminder of the doctor's duties during a hunger strike.
绝食抗议正被越来越多地使用，而且不仅仅是那些有政治目的的人。过去，英国的绝食抗议似乎主要是由出于政治目的的恐怖主义囚犯发起的，而最近一次绝食抗议是由一名被判谋杀罪的泰米尔人发起的，以抗议自己的清白。在他绝食的后期，在取消绝食之前，他在哈默史密斯医院接受照料。所以，不仅监狱医生需要知道如何应对绝食抗议。因此，1991年11月在马耳他举行的第43届世界医学大会通过的以下指导方针，适时地提醒了医生在绝食抗议期间的职责。
