670 Results

  • New report shows how regional plans could transform freshwater quality

    … improving freshwater quality identified by a new report on the failure to protect high-country lakes from degradation. … new report has received little attention, but its findings are relevant beyond high-country lakes and vital to the … councillors and staff to be identifying and learning from what hasn’t worked before. All regional councils are required …
    Briefing

  • SARS-CoV-2: A modern Greek Tragedy?

    … Despite a  WHO-led investigation , compelling evidence on the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus remains inconclusive. The WHO … who is right? Where did SARS-CoV-2 emerge from? When there are competing uncertain hypotheses we might employ a …
    Briefing

  • Counting what matters: Rethinking Aotearoa's population statistics without a census

    … Population data sources, estimates, and projections are having to evolve to meet the needs of climate change, large scale infrastructure … to establish where house building is to be placed, and of what type 7 . The potential influence of climate change on …
    Briefing

  • Key findings on smoking and e-cigarette use prevalence and trends in the 2020/21 NZ Health Survey

    … and 2020/21 among all ethnic groups. This blog describes the key findings, explores the data in more detail, and … 2020 and August 2021. Full details of the methods are available on the Ministry of Health website. The findings … are not due to chance or greatly affected by bias, what could explain the observed decline in smoking …
    Briefing

  • Making the most of masks

    … Masks and vaccination have a central role in minimising the health and economic impact of COVID-19, regardless of the long-term strategy we use … is through respiratory droplets and aerosols that are expelled by an infected person, and inhaled by one who is …
    Briefing

  • Protecting New Zealand children from the developing Omicron outbreak

    … experiencing widespread community transmission caused by the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In this blog we outline what is needed to protect the health and wellbeing of … outbreaks with very high case numbers. In children, who are largely unvaccinated in many jurisdictions, (as in NZ), …
    Briefing

  • Reducing nicotine in smoked tobacco products: A pivotal feature of the Smokefree Aotearoa proposals

    … The NZ Government has published a discussion document … products to very low levels and mandating that these are the only smoked tobacco products available for sale in … to help achieve the proposed Smokefree 2025 goal. 4 What are the arguments and evidence in support of this …
    Briefing

  • Will the Health Star Rating labels improve people’s diets?

    … and effective labelling is one tool to help control the epidemics of obesity and diabetes. Everyone agrees that … to use nutrition information (3-6). Similarly, intentions are poor predictors; 90% of consumers in the US (7-9) and NZ … offers the gift of illuminating faulty decision making.  What will we say in five years’ time, at the end of this new …
    Briefing

  • “Achieving Smokefree Aotearoa by 2025”: a response to critiques

    … The “Achieving Smokefree Aotearoa by 2025” Action Plan was … and disempower smokers. We believe these assertions are misplaced, and discuss why below. Is the Plan aiming for … more widely available. We set out some possible benefits and harms of making e-cigarettes more widely …
    Briefing

  • Not forgetting the benefits to youth and non-smokers – an example from increases in tobacco taxes

    … focus on supporting smokers to quit, thus reducing the harm they face (eg, via appropriately regulated access to … of tobacco tax increases to show the potentially large benefits to youth and non-smokers – as well as to smokers who … who might not There is no doubt that tobacco tax increases are effective in reducing tobacco consumption and prevalence …
    Briefing

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Public Health Expert Briefing (ISSN 2816-1203)