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Death rates dropping – it is a good time to be alive
… mortality have been in the last century. We are publishing a book later this year ( The Healthy Country? A History of … success of both prevention and better treatment (they each can claim about 50% of the success). But it is also … due to a mix of changing incidence ( remainder of report can be found here ) (prevention) and improving survival …
Briefing
The need for an expanded national smokefree law – just got more critical
… A just released Judicial Review has opened up the question of … The words “substantially enclosed” mean that smoking can be allowed in partly enclosed areas, which means that – … it should result in a situation that members of the public can clearly understand where smoking can and can’t be …
Briefing
Aotearoa’s first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza: Heightened awareness and surveillance essential for early detection
… pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus infection on a free-range egg farm in December 2024. The subtype, H7N6, is … found naturally in wild aquatic birds. While humans can be infected with H7 subtypes, and they can cause high mortality, human infection is rare and …
Briefing
Why the New Zealand Government should reconsider abandoning denicotinised cigarettes
… New Zealanders continue to die every year from smoking and a persistence of associated health inequities. Introduction … nicotine content and delivery. 2 The nicotine in tobacco can be greatly reduced (e.g. by chemical extraction or gene … smoking. 24 Supply of and demand for illicit cigarettes can be mitigated The tobacco industry, echoed by the NZ …
Briefing
Where do the parties stand? Protecting water sources and drinking water quality
… drinking water sources. The urine of dairy cows is a primary source of nitrogen pollution of water. 4 It has … breaches of national drinking water standards for nitrate (a form of nitrogen) in water supplies for some communities. … Gabrielle very recently demonstrated how poor land use can impact water services following heavy rainfall events …
Briefing
Smoking and vaping among 14 to 15 year olds: Government action urgently needed
… ū Hauora, the Ministry of Health, accepts vaping offers a reduced harm alternative to smoking and suggests people … their school work or paid employment. 6 This addiction can disrupt young people’s identity, relationships, academic … smoking status (where the groups differ greatly in size) can be misleading. The graph below downplays daily vaping …
Briefing
Media release: New Zealand urged to boost pandemic preparedness as bird flu spreads in US cattle
… Public health experts are issuing a call to action for New Zealand to strengthen its pandemic … in response to the evolving threat posed by the Influenza A(H5N1) virus. This strain of what is commonly known as ‘bird … human-to-human transmission, its ability to infect a broader range of animals raises alarms for potential future …
News
Ready or not? Pandemic preparedness index and implications for NZ
… Aotearoa New Zealand — which ranks 13th on the index— can continue to reduce its vulnerability to biothreats by … in the future. The ri sks include pandemic influenza or a new infectious disease, as well as deliberate biological … Understanding the drivers of future biological harms can help us take effective actions to both prevent future …
Briefing
Chewing the fat on a saturated fat tax
… We found that these meta-analyses supported this, eg, a 5% shift in dietary energy from saturated fats to … beverages is probably the place for governments to start in terms of food taxes (see a recent Public Health … (in its exiting emissions trading legislation) to start putting a price on agricultural greenhouse gases such …
Briefing
Lessons From history: Helping New Zealand prepare for future influenza pandemics
… on this NZ troopship (the Tahiti) may have contributed to a particularly severe outbreak during the 1918 influenza … they are most needed. This is where historical research can help. Here we reflect on some lessons that could be learnt from the 1918 influenza pandemic – building on a presentation we are presenting today at a Victoria …
Briefing

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