721 Results

  • A pandemic that won’t go away – as Covid enters its 5th year, NZ needs a realistic strategy

    … that this pandemic is very different to expectations and adapt accordingly. Evolving variants are driving ongoing … New Zealand  in eight weeks, killing 9,000 people – almost 1% of the population. 1 Then it was largely gone, returning … feature of long Covid : recovery can take  two years or more , with  symptoms that fluctuate  over time. 7 An …
    Briefing

  • Fighting cold, damp housing – a big tick for Warmer Kiwi programme

    … use, result in warmer, drier living areas in winter, and can help to lower respiratory illness. Motu Research has evaluated the Government’s Warmer Kiwi Homes programme and found using heat pumps reduces electricity use by 16 … and exacerbation of chronic conditions such as asthma. 1,2,3 Improved home heating can lead to reductions in these …
    Briefing

  • The cost burden of excess weight in New Zealand: Sizing up a new report

    … results show a substantial up-tick in both childhood and adult obesity prevalence after plateauing for a decade. This is of great concern and it makes a new report from the Sapere Research Group on … that society would put on premature death, disability or loss of quality of life attributed to the condition …
    Briefing

  • Taxing sugary drinks: Empirical findings out of Mexico

    … of taxing sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) in Mexico (1). This study reported that the 10% tax on SSBs was associated with an overall 12% reduction in purchases and a 4% increase in purchases of untaxed beverages one year … drinks such as diet fizzy drinks; sparkling, still, or plain water; and other drinks, including unsweetened dairy …
    Briefing

  • Can we manage dual use of smoking and vaping more effectively?

    … to smoke. We recently probed this perplexing ambiguity and explored dual use of cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) [1]. In this blog, we summarise our findings and consider … a cigarette at key moments, such as when drinking coffee or alcohol, or when under stress. Although most participants …
    Briefing

  • Proposed Emissions Reduction Plan: A weak response to a weak target

    … reducing emissions. It relies instead on emissions trading and technological advances, the latter of which are highly … efforts to reduce the impact of climate change. 1 The NDC, endorsed by successive NZ Governments, relies on … international commitments under the NDC. Given a petrol or diesel vehicle purchased today will produce emissions over …
    Briefing

  • The hardening hypothesis for smoking – but does the evidence point to “softening” in NZ?

    … NZ evidence support this? This blog considers these issues and explores the potential implications for achieving NZ’s … the remaining smokers will increasingly be ‘hard-core’ or ‘hardened’, with higher nicotine dependence and less … surveys have generally found no evidence of hardening (1-11). The most recent international evidence comes from a …
    Briefing

  • Global survey shows New Zealanders value science highly, prioritise public health

    … in science—ranking highly among the 68 countries surveyed—and counters global concerns about declining confidence in … But according to our new findings in a global survey 1 of more than 70,000 people across 68 countries (including … ignore the concerns of those who don’t trust science or minimise the disproportionate effect opinions of a …
    Briefing

  • Increasing whooping cough cases put pēpi at risk. What can be done about it?

    … pēpi (infants) are the most vulnerable to severe illness and death.  We recommend two key priority areas to reduce the … evidence-based patient-facing immunisation information; and enabling Lead Maternity Carers (LMCs) to deliver … pertussis under the age of 12 months are hospitalised. 1 2 Unimmunised pēpi  are the most vulnerable to severe …
    Briefing

  • Taxes on fizzy drinks in NZ: preventing premature deaths and raising funds for health

    … the health impact of interventions that are upstream and are political.  In the food environment, we strongly … Indeed, much international research supports this (e.g. [ 1 ]).  Today some of us have published research in the NZ … but also the consumption of foods that are complements or substitutes.[ 2 3 ] Thus there is some level of …
    Briefing

Subscribe

Briefing CTA

Public Health Expert Briefing

Get the latest insights from the public health research community delivered straight to your inbox for free. Subscribe to stay up to date with the latest research, analysis and commentary from the Public Health Expert Briefing.

PHCC logo PHCC

The PHCC is funded by a philanthropic endowment from the Gama Foundation and hosted by the Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington.

Contact

Email phcc@phcc.org.nz
43 Hanson Street, Mt Cook, 
Wellington | Te Whanganui-a-Tara
PO Box 7343, Wellington South 6242
New Zealand | Aotearoa

 

Public Health Expert Briefing (ISSN 2816-1203)