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Smart party pill law makes tobacco & alcohol regulation look pathetic
… pills now have stringent government-promulgated rules and processes. All but one MP voted for the new law. The … regulation of ‘party pills’, came into force on August 1 st 2013 with overwhelming support of MPs (only John Banks, … it is “a substance, mixture, preparation, article, device, or thing that is capable of inducing a psychoactive effect …
Briefing
Embracing downward counterfactual analysis to navigate future cyclones
… cyclones), worse timing, hitting Auckland directly, and poorer response by the public and authorities. This type … New Zealand (NZ). It caused an estimated 1720 injuries, 1 11 deaths, 2 damaged water infrastructure, 3 and the … analysis to look at what went well with disaster response, or what went badly (and resulted in bad outcomes), but not …
Briefing
6 teaspoons of sugar a day helps the diseases stay down, in a most challenging way
… of the underlying evidence on the health harm of sugar, and then pull back to consider the diet in total. There are … 27 teaspoons a day of sugar (ie, median = 107 grams ), or more than 20% of total energy intake. So this is a … much sugar is hidden in the diet in processed foods (eg, 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce includes about 1 teaspoon of …
Briefing
Death rates dropping – it is a good time to be alive
… by discussions such as those around the retirement age and superannuation policy. But few are aware just how … later this year ( The Healthy Country? A History of Life and Death in New Zealand ; AUP) that looks in depth at the … highest life expectancy in the world from 1870 to 1940? Or that life expectancy for Māori rose by 20 or more years …
Briefing
SARS-CoV-2: A modern Greek Tragedy?
… being satisfied that ‘asking whatever questions we wanted’ and obtaining answers to these questions ruled out a … that they do not keep similar viruses to SARS-CoV-2, and they have appropriate safety training (while not … a principle of parsimony to infer the correct explanation, or we can use a principle based on prior knowledge of …
Briefing
In May 2022 the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 expires: what then?
… Covid policy. A new Bill will require public submissions and thorough consideration by a parliamentary select … legal response to the then unfolding Covid pandemic [1]. The Covid Act now provides the principal means for making … inquiry, and none were made. But now a new Act is needed, or will be soon. The Government has no option but to reflect …
Briefing
Media release: What can we do to reduce the number of babies dying before, during or soon after birth?
… There were more than 700 fetal and neonatal deaths in 2021, that’s a rate of 11.2 per 1000 births according to the Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee’s (PMMRC) 16th Annual … suspected. Also, preparation for preterm birth if expected or required. Dr Elder says this is made so much easier when …
News
Budget 2023 goes a long way to improving housing and wellbeing
… Budget, announced this week, have implications for housing and public health. This includes new public housing, extending the Warmer Kiwi Homes Programme, and investment in infrastructure. This Briefing article … while most other countries’ populations are stagnant or declining. It is of concern then that the percentage of …
Briefing
Should you swap sugar for artificial sweetener? Maybe not if you’re a mouse, but what if you’re a human?
… hiding under a rock lately, you’ll be aware that sugar and its negative impact on dental caries, body weight, and … mice and compared them with mice that were fed only water or water supplemented with either glucose or sucrose (sugar). … significant reduction in body weight (-0.80 kg; 95% CI -1.17 to -0.43), BMI (-0.24 kgm 2 ; 95% CI -0.41 to -0.07), …
Briefing
A Statue of Merit: Dr Margaret Cruickshank and the 1918 influenza pandemic
… Some statues are getting bad press at present – and rightly so for the confederate military statues which … in the USA and internationally. Some have been pulled down or officially removed following the uproar over the General … the colonial Premier’s role in alienating Māori land [1]. There is also current day dispute about a memorial in …
Briefing

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