658 Results

  • Highlights of the World Conference on Tobacco or Health

    … to Smokefree 2025 in New Zealand. In summary, New Zealand can still learn a lot from other countries as we move to the adoption of a … range of state-of-the-art tobacco control policies.   We start with a key highlight of this Conference for New Zealand …
    Briefing

  • Making the most of masks

    … Masks and vaccination have a central role in minimising the health and economic impact … remains imperative. One of the most effective ways we can quickly accomplish a safe move down Alert Levels is … about choosing suitable masks and making your own. The simple measure of improving ventilation and airflow in indoor …
    Briefing

  • And now the Brits are doing it: A sugary drink tax levy on the industry

    … From 1 April 2018, the UK is putting in place a type of sugary drinks tax – actually a “soft drinks … than it is for any food. Second, sugary drink taxes can be configured in many ways – let’s jump across the ditch … SSB volume (’volumetric tax’) 30 cents/litre tax on SSBs. Simple to administer Eroded by inflation*   More tax paid per …
    Briefing

  • Preparing for Omicron: A proactive Government response is urgently needed to minimise harms

    … Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) could improve preparations for a likely national outbreak of the Omicron variant of … of Australia probably provides the best example of what NZ can expect to see, given that its population immunity has … limiting travel from them until conditions change. If we can push the number of active border cases down to a more …
    Briefing

  • Would a sugary fizzy drink tax reduce health inequalities? Probably Yes

    … A possible tax on sweetened sugary beverages (SSBs, and in … prices and demand, epidemiological predictions, and then a recent Australian study on the topic. The bottom line is that such a tax would probably be good for health of all groups in NZ, …
    Briefing

  • How to best describe NZ’s border control problems around COVID-19 with a possible typology

    … Particular words and phrases can frame how issues are considered and the extent to which they imply the need for a corrective response to improve system design or delivery. … this could have been the best word to use at the start of the pandemic when NZ had no significant border …
    Briefing

  • The COVID-19 house fire and the unbearable silence of fire alarms

    … of the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in … concern. The world saw in 2003 how SARS coronaviruses can behave. Surely there was a strong argument for convening … activate at a low threshold and early enough that the fire can still be extinguished. The alarm must be piercing enough …
    Briefing

  • Australia’s Quarantine Systems Failures: Lessons for NZ

    … programmes, starting with border workers, has been a favourable development in recent months. NZ and Australia … as not all of those infected will transmit the virus and start a detectable chain of transmission. Therefore, counts … valuable when it becomes clearer that vaccines can substantially prevent transmission, in addition to …
    Briefing

  • Why NZ should consider adopting “mass masking” as an additional step to speed elimination of the Covid-19 pandemic

    … public mask use is common in some Asian countries as a control measure in the current Covid-19 pandemic. There is … elimination goal. There is no doubt that surgical masks can be used to reduce the spread of respiratory … a systematic review came to the same conclusion. Masks are simple, cheap, and potentially effective. We believe that, …
    Briefing

  • Capitalising on NZ’s linked data by increasing IT and researcher capacity: Opportunity is knocking

    … A key strategic advantage for NZ and research is our national routinely-collected datasets.  This can generate new knowledge in academia, service delivery and … critical mass and – for a period of time at least – a kick-start of serious resources.  Australia has achieved this with …
    Briefing

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Public Health Expert Briefing (ISSN 2816-1203)