What could we do, and what should we not do, to improve public health? This Blog has postings from public health experts on issues such as efficiency, equity, interventions, politics, cost effectiveness and much more.
Monday, October 31st, 2016 | Kate Sloane | 3 Comments
Dr Andrea Teng, June Atkinson, Dr George Disney, Prof Nick Wilson, Prof Diana Sarfati, Dr Melissa McLeod, Prof Tony Blakely
Work we just published shows some adverse trends in cancer deaths by ethnic group, as well as some favourable trends. In this blog we discuss some of the key findings of this research and what the options are for NZ society to address the harmful trends for obesity-related cancers, tobacco-related cancers and infection-related cancers.
Tuesday, October 25th, 2016 | Kate Sloane | 3 Comments
Prof Tony Blakely, Dr Nisha Nair
This blog is, and isn’t, about the breast cancer drug Herceptin. It is about Herceptin in that we report on a study we just published in the journal PLoS Medicine about the health gains, costs, and cost-effectiveness of Herceptin. It isn’t about Herceptin in that the key point is far more general: in the age of personalised and precision medicine, our country’s funding decisions are often blunt and imprecise, some may even say wasteful. We raise some hard and contentious issues – but talking about money and health in the same breath always is.
Wednesday, October 19th, 2016 | Kate Sloane | No Comments
Dr Amber Pearson, Frederieke Sanne van der Deen, Dr Cristina Cleghorn, Dr Nhung Nghiem, Prof Tony Blakely, Prof Nick Wilson
We have just published research on the health gains and cost-savings from various legally mandated restrictions on tobacco retail outlets. In this blog, we briefly consider the results and put the findings in a wider context of how New Zealand might reach its Smokefree 2025 goal.
Monday, October 3rd, 2016 | Kate Sloane | 6 Comments
Prof Nick Wilson, Prof Janet Hoek, A/Prof George Thomson, Prof Richard Edwards
The NZ Ministry of Health is currently reviewing public submissions on options that would allow nicotine-containing e-cigarettes to be sold legally in NZ. This consultation raises questions about how the wider uptake of e-cigarette use (known as “vaping”) will be managed. In this blog, we consider arguments about the indoor public settings where vaping should be allowed or prohibited. We conclude that there seems an overall strong rationale for “Smokefree = Vapefree” in all circumstances for the indoor areas covered by current smokefree laws and policies.