628 Results

  • Contradictions surround Government’s move to slash tax on heated tobacco products

    … had advocated for this change; however, the Ministry of Health had advised Minister Costello that there was no … tobacco products. The tobacco industry has a long history of malign practice. Court judgments have found tobacco companies’ denial of the risks their smoked tobacco products cause was …
    Briefing

  • Ready or not? Pandemic preparedness index and implications for NZ

    … how the world remains vulnerable to the persisting risk of pandemics. The Global Health Security (GHS) Index is one … as deliberate biological attacks or accidental release of agents used in biodefence research.   The world may have … because ongoing cyberattacks undermined the accuracy of data about the outbreak. This interplay between advancing …
    Briefing

  • Calculating cardiovascular risk with online calculators – scope for improvement?

    … It is now possible to readily estimate individual risk of future cardiovascular events with a large number of online calculators – including a NZ-specific calculator … tobacco taxes (1)) and regulations to improve the quality of the food supply (e.g., to limit salt (2)). But individual …
    Briefing

  • Lime E-Scooters – Avoiding a collision course with public health?

    … In this blog, we consider the public health implications of Lime e-scooters, review how policy makers could maximise … pose, and consider wider questions regarding allocation of urban space.   The ‘shared economy’, where consumers make … change. Placing people at the heart of inner city development may make it easier to incorporate new …
    Briefing

  • We need to talk about breast cancer screening (part 2)

    … Editor note: This is Part 2 of a two-part blog by Dr Caroline Shaw and Associate … agree with Shaw and Sarfati that screening beneath the age of 50 should stop and the quality and honesty of communication to women must improve. We would also go one …
    Briefing

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

    … In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, everybody now knows that: Warnings … Psychological research has shown that these kinds of rare but devastating events are exactly the ones humans … this point home, I noted in the news today that a resident of Westport (a New Zealand town flooded by a ‘1 in 100 year …
    Briefing

  • Climate change and cherry blossom

    … climate change expert. Alistair was Convening Lead Author of Chapter 11 (Human Health) in the 5 th IPCC Assessment … some suggested, that it coincided with the final day of the IPCC meeting in Yokohama. The IPCC (Intergovernmental … no common views on issues such as devolution, community development and the role of non-governmental organisations)? …
    Briefing

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

    … topical internationally. This blog considers some economic theory around prices and demand, epidemiological predictions, … line is that such a tax would probably be good for health of all groups in NZ, but particularly the poorest New … not have as large an impact on health as, say, reduction of salt in processed food or food reformulation to reduce …
    Briefing

  • Meat, health, hospitals, and sustainability*

    … Achieving healthier diets that are also sustainable is increasingly in the news. In this blog, I look at the case for reducing the amount of meat in hospital meals and gently remind our dietitian … colleagues not to let their dietary advice get out of date. Over-consumption of meat is costing us. Our health, …
    Briefing

  • Nitrate contamination in drinking water and adverse birth outcomes: emerging evidence is concerning for NZ

    … new evidence and puts it into a NZ context. Nitrate is one of the most common drinking water contaminants in NZ, largely … concerns over nitrate contamination. 1-3 Our recent study of the current nitrate levels in NZ drinking water showed as … are far below the current drinking water nitrate limit of 11.3 mg/L set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The …
    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)