658 Results

  • The alarms are flashing red: Five reasons to upgrade our Alert Level system before the next Covid-positive traveller visits a major city

    … us from outbreaks, avoid lockdowns, help us transition to a post-vaccination future, support prevention of other … values of Indigenous peoples’ 1 we describe actions that can be taken to address several warning signals about gaps in … with an increasingly well-vaccinated population and a simple basis for increasing controls on virus transmission if …
    Briefing

  • A Smokefree Aotearoa – could taking the nicotine out of smoked tobacco products help us get there?

    … This blog presents key findings from a modelling study where we estimated the impact that … could have on smoking prevalence in Aotearoa New Zealand. A policy requiring that all smoked tobacco products are … precise methods is highly desirable. Such modelling can also describe levels of uncertainty and quantify impacts …
    Briefing

  • Smart party pill law makes tobacco & alcohol regulation look pathetic

    … The promise is that if such a wide parliamentary consensus can be achieved on party pills, proportionate action on … the new product poses a low risk of harm? The answer is simple. There are none. There is no regulatory authority, no … approach to regulating harmful substances? A good place to start would be to include plans for proper regulation of …
    Briefing

  • Fast-track Bill puts NZ on wrong track, threatening public health

    … Approvals Bill to Parliament. The Bill would allow a small number of Ministers to approve infrastructure and … (particularly where fossil fuels are mined). 19 It can also pollute waterways. 20 Other impending impacts of … energy. “Before the election National signalled it would start construction on a second tunnel in its first term by …
    Briefing

  • Phasing out smoking: The Tobacco-Free Generation policy

    … of free choice (Hoek et al, 2016) Overwhelmingly, smokers start in adolescence or early adulthood. Measures to protect … laws are not always successful (Nuyts, 2018) and may: Send a misleading message that there is a ‘safe age’ for … 2022, when TFG takes over. From then on, tobacco sales can only be made to people born in 2003 or earlier. As with …
    Briefing

  • A preventable measles epidemic: Lessons for reforming public health in NZ

    … the largest we have experienced in the last 40 years. It can be linked to the problems created by long-term erosion … population health threats. We argue for consolidating a range of dispersed public health activities into a strong … and sustained over time, to build infrastructure that can continue to improve the length and quality of people’s …
    Briefing

  • The science is certain: masks work. Policy and practice must support their use

    … Summary A new comprehensive evidence review has concluded that masks … Identifying situations and settings where mask wearing can have substantial protective effects during winter 2024 … more effective at reducing infection risk and they can be re-used several times, reducing environmental waste. …
    Briefing

  • Covid-19 was no black swan, but a paradigmatic black elephant

    … to drive this point home, I noted in the news today that a resident of Westport (a New Zealand town flooded by a ‘1 in … the processes of governance themselves. These processes can become stuck through entrenchment, inertia, historical … weaknesses including groupthink and confirmation bias that can impair decision-making or critical thinking of an …
    Briefing

  • Is Keytruda for advanced melanoma cost-effective? Applying the BODE3 rapid cost effectiveness calculator

    … Keytruda, or pembrolizumab, is a new immune inhibitor drug that appears to have pronounced … I chose a 65 year old female with advanced melanoma to start with. Finally – and by far most importantly – input the … it is important to note that cost-effectiveness can vary enormously by age, as older people have less to gain …
    Briefing

  • Is youth vaping a problem in New Zealand?

    … few young people who are non-smokers are vaping. How can these apparently contradictory perceptions co-exist? In … vaping’s likely impact on non-smokers. Non-smokers who start vaping face potential risks from long-term use … regular vapers who are never smokers is much higher than a simple comparison of the prevalence figures suggests. That is …
    Briefing

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Public Health Expert Briefing (ISSN 2816-1203)